Methods for measuring at least one rheological property of diamond particles

摘要

Methods of measuring at least one rheological property of diamond particles used in the manufacture of polycrystalline diamond are disclosed. Diamond particles are provided including a plurality of unsintered diamond particles. A rheological property (e.g., a torsional mechanical property or other flow property) of the diamond particles is measured. By comparing the measured value of the torsional mechanical property to that of a baseline known to correlate to the desired target specification, it may be determined whether the diamond particles are within an acceptable range relative to the target specification. Such a method may be incorporated into methods for manufacturing a polycrystalline diamond compact to ensure the quality of a polycrystalline diamond table thereof.

主权项

1. A method of measuring at least one rheological property of diamond particles used in the manufacture of polycrystalline diamond, the method comprising:
providing a mixture batch of diamond particles including a plurality of unsintered diamond particles exhibiting agglomerates; measuring the at least one rheological property of the mixture batch of diamond particles exhibiting the agglomerates; correlating the at least one rheological property of the mixture batch of diamond particles with agglomeration of a portion of the plurality of unsintered diamond particles and amount of the plurality of unsintered diamond particles below a selected particle size; determining whether the at least one rheological property of the mixture batch of diamond particles is within an acceptable range of a target specification for the at least one rheological property; repeating the measuring, correlating and determining acts on the mixture batch of unsintered diamond particles over a period of time; and determining a variation in the at least one rheological property over the period of time to determine agglomeration as a function of time and thereby determine an acceptable shelf-life of the mixture batch.