Master sintering curve with dissimilar grain growth trajectories: A case study on MgAl2O4

TL;DR

This paper investigates the limitations of the traditional master sintering curve (MSC) theory when applied to MgAl2O4 ceramics with dissimilar grain growth trajectories, proposing a comparative analysis with Park's MSC theory.

Contribution

It introduces a case study on MgAl2O4 demonstrating dissimilar grain growth trajectories and compares conventional MSC with Park's MSC theory for better sintering kinetics understanding.

Findings

Conventional MSC assumes a single sintering trajectory.

Dissimilar grain growth affects the accuracy of traditional MSC.

Park's MSC theory can better account for varied grain growth responses.

Abstract

Sintering is a key step in the processing of high performance ceramics. Both the density and the grain size play a crucial role on the ceramic sintering kinetics and the final material properties. The master sintering curve (MSC) is a well-known tool for exploring sintering models kinetics. However, the conventional MSC theory assumes a unique sintering trajectory, while our study on MgAl2O4 spinel shows dissimilar growth response. Park's MSC theory has been applied and compared with the conventional MSC approach for obtaining the activation energy with and without dissimilar grain growth trajectories.