KINETICS OF DENSIFICATION BY SOLUTION-REPRECIPITATION

The densification rate and microstructural evolution of powder compact s densifying by solution-reprecipitation in the presence of a liquid p hase are predicted with the assumption that solid particles are equisi zed spheres randomly packed and pulled together by a liquid that wets perfectly both the solid and its grain boundaries. The influences of a pplied pressure, initial packing density and of the ''sphering force'' due to changes in solid particle shape are accounted for. The resulti ng sintering rate retains approximately the one-third power law depend ence of linear shrinkage on time predicted by Kingery, and shows good agreement with published experimental data. The analysis is extended t o include the role of particle coarsening, so as to assess its importa nce and influence in densification kinetics. Copyright (C) 1997 Acta M etallurgica Inc.