Porosity effect on the electrical conductivity of sintered powder compacts

A new equation for calculating the electrical conductivity of sintered powder compacts is proposed. In this equation, the effective resistivity of porous compacts is a function of the fully dense material conductivity, the porosity of the compact and the tap porosity of the starting powder. The new equation is applicable to powder sintered compacts from zero porosity to tap porosity. A connection between this equation and the percolation conduction theory is stated. The proposed equation has been experimentally validated with sintered compacts of six different metallic powders. Results confirm very good agreement with theoretical predictions.