Abstract
The sintering force, defined as the uniaxial tensile force necessary to just stop the sintering contraction, was measured over the entire cource of sintering of commercially aviable alumina powder. The apparent sintering force was evaluated as the load divided the cross sectional area. Powder compacts with various shapes were fabricated, and a relationship between the sintering force and the dimensions of specimens was examined. Furthremore, a relationship between sintering force and particle size was examined. The sintering force increased as densification proceeded. The sintering force became the maximum at a sintered density of 86%, and quickly decreased during densification. Measured sintering forces were compared sintering forces calculated based on various sintering models.
