Porous Alumina Ceramics Fabricated by Spark Plasma Sintering

Porous alumina of regular spherical particles was fabricated with the spark plasma sintering (SPS) and then compared to those ob-tained through conventional hot pressing (HP). The effects of the parameters of the heating process on porosity were also investigated. Microstructural studies suggest that porous ingots including regular pores be made out of regular spherical alumina particles due to the close sphere packages. A comparative study on the relative necks of the specimens produced by SPS and HP indicates an enhancement of neck growth with SPS. Contrasting the theoretical values to the experimental results over the relative necks indicates that a proper relationship between the relative necks and the porosity can be established by a sintering model.