Abstract
This study explores the impact of electric field and temperature on flash sintering of zirconia nanoparticles using molecular dynamics simulations. The findings suggest that the electric field effect is secondary to the temperature effect. A comparison of simulations varying temperature and electric field reveals a more significant difference in diffusion coefficient with temperature variations. Furthermore, the electric field effect does not exhibit a consistent monotonic trend, as seen in the changing order of curves when temperature increases. The induced electric field contributes to crystal orientation alignment and promotes surface mechanisms throughout the sintering stages. While a higher electric field leads to greater atomic motion in the initial stage, the relationship is not strictly monotonic. However, it consistently enhances the diffusion coefficient of surface atoms, highlighting its role in surface mechanisms. Further research is warranted to fully understand the interplay between electric field, temperature, and sintering mechanisms.
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The raw/processed data required to reproduce these findings cannot be shared at this time as the data also forms part of an ongoing study.
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Acknowledgements
This research was made possible through the generous support of the US National Science Foundation, Division of Materials Research (Award No. 1900876), as well as the US Department of Energy, Office of Basic Energy Sciences (Award No. SC0022244). We extend our heartfelt appreciation to the High-Performance Computing Cluster (HPCC) at SDSU for supplying the essential computational resources for this project.
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Polifrone, K. et al. (2024). An Atomistic Modeling Study of Electric Field Effect on Sintering Mechanisms of Zirconia. In: TMS 2024 153rd Annual Meeting & Exhibition Supplemental Proceedings. TMS 2024. The Minerals, Metals & Materials Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-50349-8_157
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-50349-8_157
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