Computer Modeling of Ceramics Sintering: Effects of Inhomogeneity on Sintering Kinetics

In the sintering of ceramics, cracks are inevitably encountered after sintering. But very few studies have been presented in the literature for qualifying and quantifying effects of inhomogeneity on sintering kinetics. Therefore, a series of detailed sintering variables such as grain size, surface tension and diffusivity are chosen to study the effects of their inhomogeneity on sintering kinetics through a computational model calculated by computer.Furthermore, there are two main achievements in this computational model that first one is providing a numerical solution for the curvature at triple junction (pore tip) of microscopic particles, and second one is considering the effect of surface diffusion on first-stage sintering where diffusion mechanism is coupled by grain-boundary and surface diffusion.