Computer study of liquid phase sintering - three-dimensional time dependent rearrangement

The rearrangement process during liquid phase sintering has been generally accepted that driven by the capillary forces between solid grains embedded in liquid. This paper outlines a computer-based method for three-dimensional computer simulation of rearrangement during liquid phase sintering. The theoretical models dealing with the fundamental interaction forces that exist between grains attached by liquid bridges will be outlined and the development from these pair-wise interactions to multi-grain models will be described.