Numerical simulation of solid state sintering; model and application

A comprehensive model for solid state sintering is presented which combines several previous models for partial aspects of sintering and grain coarsening. Some additional aspects are discussed and the model is extended for external loads several times higher than the sintering stress. Model parameters for a SiC powder are presented. For a face seal made of SiC uniaxial die compaction is simulated and different green density distributions after compaction are obtained for two different pressing schedules. Next, the sintering behavior is simulated using these density distributions as initial conditions. The resulting distortions of the face seal differ significantly for the two pressing schedules. For a special element with average green density the predictions of the sintering model are investigated in more detail. Finally, the shape predictions of the model are compared with a simplified model for solid state sintering. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.