Solid Solution Additives and the Sintering of Ceramics

Abstract

ABSTRACTThe use of solid solution additives has been shown to be very effective for the formation, by conventional sintering, of ceramic materials with high density and with controlled grain size. However, the number of systems for which such additives have been successfully found remains quite small, and the role of the additives is fairly well understood in only two or three of these. This paper describes the initial part of a systematic study into the effects of solid solution additives on the sintering of ceramics. Cerium oxide was chosen as a model host powder for this work because it has appreciable solubility for many additives. A combination of kinetic data and microstructural observations indicate that the sintering and grain growth are influenced significantly by the additive size but less significantly by the additive charge. The density versus grain size relationship is almost independent of the additive below relative densities of = 0.90 but depends strongly on the additive above this density. The data are interpreted in terms of the effect of the additives on the densification to coarsening ratio.