Study of the sintering kinetics with the help of random sets models

Probabilistic models were used to follow the evolution of the microstructures of WC-Co cermets during sintering in liquid phase. Among the three models tested, the bi-phased Boolean diagram with polyhedral grains is the one describing the morphology of these materials best, using only two parameters. The study of the variation of these parameters, with respect to time or the sintering temperature, has allowed us to find the equation of sintering kinetics, with an exponent n equal to 3, and to calculate an activation energy compatible with the ones found in literature. Thanks to the predictive characteristic of this model, we were also able to estimate a value for the connexity number in R3, which is a parameter non accessible through experiment. (author). 27 refs., 11 figs., 3 tabs