Master Sintering Curve: A Practical Approach to Sintering

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Abstract
One of the ultimate objectives for sintering studies is to be able to predict densiflcation results under different thermal histories for a given processing method. It has been reported that the geometric parameters related to sintering often are functions only of density for a given powder and green‐body process, provided that one diffusion mechanism dominates in the sintering process. Based on this report, the concept of a master sintering curve has been developed that characterizes the sintering behavior for a given powder and green‐body process regardless of the heating profiles. The formulation and construction of the master sintering curve are given in this paper. A model experiment on sintering of alumina is used and analyzed to demonstrate this new concept. Examples of the master sintering curves obtained from other powder systems (ZnO, nickel, A12O3(5 vol% TiO2), and A12O3(5 vol% ZrO2)) are presented. When this new method is used, densification behavior can be predicted under arbitrary temperature‐time excursions following a minimal set of preliminary experiments, and these predictions can be used in planning sintering strategies. Moreover, deviations from the assumption of a single mechanism can be observed readily.

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