On-line sintering strength of ceramic composites

The sintering of powder-based ceramic composites is often accompanied by developments of cracks or large pores. As a rule, damage development is active only at early stages of sintering, when junctures between particles are not strong enough. A macroscopic model of sintering, taking into account broken junctures between particles is put forward. A new fracture criterion for the prediction of macroscopic damage is proposed. The model follows both densification and damage development during sintering. Modeling enables the optimization of heating regimes and the geometrical structure of ceramic composites. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.