Determination of the Influence of Electric Fields upon the Densification of Ionic Ceramics
Abstract
We have used in-situ transmission electron microscopy to reproduce appropriate experimental conditions typical for field-assisted sintering, with the goal to identify mechanisms that lead to field-assisted densification. Following studies by Raj and co-workers initial experiments focused on 3wt Y-stabilized ZrO2. This approach required the development of techniques to evaluate densification during through TEM imaging, and assisting the development of new techniques to expose nanoparticles to non-contacting electrostatic fields at temperatures as high as 900 centigrade. We have also performed detailed microstructure characterizations of flash sintered samples of the same material, which was until then mostly absent from the literature. We discovered that electrode effects as well as inhomogeneous field strength throughout the green body during flash sintering lead to non-homogeneous microstructures. We expect that therefore physical properties may be inhomogeneous depending local distance to the electrodes during flash sintering processing. Characterization of physical properties was, however, outside the scope of this project.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jul 21, 2017
- Accession Number
- AD1050649
Entities
People
- Klaus van Benthem
Organizations
- University of California, Davis