Grain evolution simulation of ceramic tool material in spark plasma sintering process based on an improved cellular automata model.

In this paper, a mathematical model for simulating the grain evolution process of ceramic materials was constructed to investigate the effects of the sintering parameters on the microstructure in the spark plasma sintering process. Firstly, a new algorithm of removing the right angle of grain was improved and an improved cell state assignment method was proposed based on the cellular automata model. Then the sintering parameters were coupled into the model, and the simulation method of grain growth and pore evolution were proposed. Finally, a ceramic material grain evolution model with stomata structure for spark plasma sintering was constructed. The simulation results showed that the grain size increased exponentially with the increases of holding time and sintering temperature, while the pores gradually decreased with the increase of the two parameters and the density of the material. Besides, the uniformity of grain growth also decreased with the increase of holding time. These results conformed to the topological characteristics of grain growth and the law of grain boundary migration, and can provide support for the sintering parameters optimization of ceramic tool materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]