DAEM kinetics analysis and finite element simulation of thermal debinding process for a gelcast SiAlON green body

Abstract Thermal debinding is an important step in a gelcasting process, and the proper selection of the debinding technique is crucial for the quality of a green body. In this work, the pyrolysis characteristics of an N,N-dimethylacrylamide/N,N′-methylenebisacrylamide gel system in a thermal debinding process of a gelcast SiAlON green body were investigated through nonisothermal thermogravimetric analysis and a thermogravimetric analyzer coupled with Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analysis. In addition, the pyrolysis kinetics of the thermal debinding process of the gelcast SiAlON green body were described by using a three-parallel-distributed activation energy model. The results showed that the conversion (α) and reaction rate (dα/dT) curves predicted by the kinetic model agreed well with the experimental data. The kinetic parameters (E0,i, k0,i, and σi) of the global thermal debinding process were 116.0–158.0 kJ/mol, 9.31 × 108 s−1 and 2.19–20.52 kJ/mol, respectively. Finally, a solid–fluid–thermal–mechanical coupling numerical model of the thermal debinding process was established through finite element methods on the basis of theories of the porous medium seepage and thermodynamics. The distributions of the residual content of the gel polymer, the temperature, the pressure, and the stress in the green body throughout the entire thermal debinding process were evaluated using this model. It was shown that a high heating rate leads to a high temperature gradient and von Mises stress inside the green body. Moreover, a reasonable debinding technique was proposed to effectively prevent and eliminate defects caused by excessive stress or a temperature gradient inside the green body. In a given DMAA/MBAM gel system, the strongest stress peak can be effectively eliminated by holding at 310 °C for no less than 2 h at a heating rate of 1 °C/min. This work aims to provide a theoretical basis for studying thermal debinding kinetics and optimizing debinding techniques for the gelcasting of various materials.