COMPACTION AND SINTERING BEHAVIOR OF ZIRCONIA POWDERS

Four kinds of zirconia powders are prepared in different ways. Their c ompaction and sintering behaviour are studied extensively. During comp action, the agglomerates or granules present in the powder are broken and/or undergo plastic deformation. The behaviour depends essentially on the strength of links between the particles. The sol-gel powders ar e more sensitive to the formation of hard inter-particle links during the synthesis process. So careful control is needed in order to avoid the formation of aggregates, because they favour the presence of large pores which lead to differential sintering and grain coarsening. In o ther cases rite sintering can also be inhibited by the presence of res idual impurities. A powder which has rod-like shapen agglomerates is s intered to regular microstructure.