Abstract
Studies of the sintering of uncompacted uranium powders in vacuum have shown that sintering behaviour is markedly affected by the nature of the surface films on the powder. Of the variables in the powder production route that might affect the nature of the surface films, the leaching stage is the most important.
The deleterious effect of surface contaminants on the vacuum-sintering behaviour of beryllium is demonstrated. During the development of a technique for the production of a stable powder from electrolytic flake, the nature of the leaching treatment again proved to have a marked influence on the sintering behaviour of the resultant powder.
Both sets of investigations were hampered by lack of methods for identification of surface films on powders.
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