Dimensionless Parameters for Microstructural Pathways in Sintering

Dimensionless parameters have been developed to study microstructural pathways for the sintering of powders. These parameters are designed to facilitate the comparison of microstructural paths for any sintering experiments, independent of the characteristic length scales in the microstructures. Microstructural pathways constructed with the dimensionless parameters are found to be similar for three different alumina ceramics. The systematic differences between the experimental results and the predictions of models based on simplifying geometric assumptions are explained in terms of the packing disruptions in the green microstructures.