Sintering Applications

Preface

Materials science and engineering depends on three classes of materials namely metals, ceramics and polymers. The aim of this book is to help the graduate and doctoral students in materials science and related disciplines on the sintering of several materials. During the sintering process, changes occur in the microstructure because of decomposition or phase transformations. Three major changes commonly ocur during sintering. The grain size increases, pore shape and pore size changes. The result is a decrease in the porosity after sintering. The fabrication process for ceramics involves several different steps. The first step in ceramics processing is compaction. In the compaction stage, ceramic powders are pressed in a die to shape the powder into the desired form. Sintering is one of the final stages of ceramics fabrication and is used to increase the strength of the compacted material. In the Sintering of Ceramics section,