Simulation of the sintering behaviour of high-tech ceramics by means of dilatometry and thermokinetic analysis

A new method for the optimisation of sintering processes makes use of the possibilities of an advanced thermokinetic software package. The method is based on dilatometer measurements at different heating rates. Subsequently, these measurements are analysed with a thermokinetic software package. The result of this analysis is, in most cases, a complex multiple-step formal kinetic approximation of the measurement results. On the basis of this description, the behaviour of the material for different temperature profiles or for certain sintering processes (eg for constant sintering rates) can be predicted.