Abstract
Sintering experiments of cylindrical compacts of metallic hollow spheres are conducted under partial uniaxial pressure at some elevated temperatures, and the state of contact between spheres is examined. The cylindrical compact is made by pouring iron hollow spheres into a stainless steel container. An aluminum weight is put on the inner part of the upper surface of the compact, and the outer part is covered by a stainless plate with or without empty space. Vertical cross sections of the fired compacts are observed to examine the degree of contact between spheres. The increase in contact area with the reduction in height of compacts is small in the outer region compared with the inner region. In the case of covering with empty space, the spheres tend to move out of pressure by the weight, and the reduction in height and the contact area vary widely. When the compact is covered without empty space and compressed enough, the contact areas between spheres become large.
