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Pore deformation and grain boundary migration during sintering in porous materials: a phase-field approach

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Abstract

Grain growth in porous ceramics is a complex process due to the variety of interactions between pores and grains. In this study, the pore deformation and grain boundary migration during porous ceramic sintering are simulated by the phase-field method, and the variety of diffusions during sintering is considered. Pores of different shapes and sizes are induced into the simulations to investigate the grain boundary migration and pore deformations during grain growth. Simulation results indicate that the porous microstructure is determined by the contacting mode between pore surface and grain boundaries, which is in good agreement with experimental observations. The efficiency of the grain boundary migration is analyzed via calculating the forces applied on the interfaces between grains and pores, and the mechanism of the pore deformation during grain boundary migration is discussed. Therefore, controlling the grain–pore microstructure by adjusting the synthesis process is essential to reach the desired mechanical and physical properties of sintered materials.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Numbers: 51501146, 51372197, 21503165, 51701152, 51705415, 51602252), the Cultivating Research Program of Xi’an University of Science and Technology (Grant Number: 201701), the Key Innovation Team of Shaanxi Province (Grant Number: 2014KCT-04) and the Undergraduate Training Program for Innovation and Entrepreneurship of XUST (Grant Number: 201710704160).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Materials Science and Engineering, Xi’an University of Science and Technology, Xi’an, 710054, People’s Republic of China

    Lifei Du, Shaomei Yang, Xinwen Zhu, Jing Jiang, Qian Hui & Huiling Du

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  1. Lifei Du
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  2. Shaomei Yang
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  3. Xinwen Zhu
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  4. Jing Jiang
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  6. Huiling Du
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Correspondence to Lifei Du or Huiling Du.

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Du, L., Yang, S., Zhu, X. et al. Pore deformation and grain boundary migration during sintering in porous materials: a phase-field approach. J Mater Sci 53, 9567–9577 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-018-2267-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-018-2267-7

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