Sintering mechanics of ceramics: a short review

Abstract

Abstract The strength and reliability of ceramics is determined by the microstructure and small defects, such as voids and cracks, which are often formed during sintering. The continuum mechanics of sintering is a powerful method to analyze the internal stress developing during the constrained sintering and the formation of these defects. However, challenges remain in understanding microscopic physical mechanisms involved in sintering of powder compacts, the microstructure of which are heterogeneous and anisotropic, generally. Here, we report how the macroscopic sintering stress tensor and the viscosity tensor are determined by microscopic forces acting between particles. The reported theoretical approach will benefit the fundamental understanding of the underlying physics and provide insight on the relationship between the macroscopic shrinkage and the microscopic particle packing structures produced by powder processing.