Pore channel closure in sintering of a ring of three spheres

摘要

Three-dimensional numerical simulation of sintering of a ring of three spheres was performed to investigate the effect of the ratio of grain boundary energy gamma_(gb) to surface energy gamma_s, or dihedral angle, to the nature of pore channel closure. As the ring shrank, the hole at the center closed to form a triple junction. The force acting between particles, that was the sintering force, was defined by including both surface tension and grain boundary tension. The shrinkage rate was approximately proportional to the sintering force, but became non-linear at lower gamma_(gb)/gamma_s. The sintering force, and also, shrinkage rate increased with decreasing gamma_(gb)/gamma_s, then, the hole closed in a short time at low gamma_(gb)/gamma_s.