Simulation of the field-activated sintering of thermoelectric materials

The field-activated sintering of segmented thermoelement branches is considered within a timedependent computer model. Modified asymmetric tooling with an electrical insulating layer is proposed. This tooling facilitates the formation of a temperature difference as high as several hundreds of kelvins in the sample. The influence of the insulating-layer thickness on the axial and radial temperature differences in the samples is analyzed. The possibility of reducing the radial temperature gradient is demonstrated.