How to overcome the main challenges of SPS technology: Reproducibility, multi-samples and elaboration of complex shapes

Abstract

The spark plasma sintering process (SPS) permits the densification of a wide variety of materials [1–2] (metals, alloys, ceramic, polymer, and composites). This breakthrough sintering technique is able to create highly dense materials with micro-structural control and a very short processing time [3–5]. Although it has experienced a very strong growth in the last three decades in terms of publications and patents, its industrialization is still in its infancy. This is mainly due to the fact that only pieces of simple geometries have been densified so far, and that this technology is considered to suffer from a lack of reproducibility and productivity. We will try to show in this chapter how to overcome three of the main challenges of SPS technology: reproducibility, multi-samples, and elaboration of complex shapes.