Microstructural evolution during sintering

Small-angle scattering techniques have been used in a number of studies to characterize pore evolution in ceramic compacts. Parameters characterizing the pore distribution, such as total pore surface area, pore size, and pore density, have been measured through both intermediate and final stage sintering. This paper discusses a review of these results which indicates that pore sizes were generally found to remain constant during intermediate-stage sintering; supporting a topological decay model of sintering. Pore sizes generally increased and the size distribution broadened during final-stage sintering. The scattering results also suggest the presence of a unique pore surface area versus density curve