Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
13
Sintering of ultrafine and nanosized ceramic
and metallic particles
Z . Z . FANG and H . WANG , University of Utah, USA
Abstract: The sintering of nanosized particles exhibits a number of
distinctively unique phenomena compared to the sintering of coarse
powders, e.g. low sintering temperatures and rapid grain growth. This
chapter aims to bring into focus the understanding of the fundamental
issues of nanosinteirng, including the thermodynamic driving force of
nanosintering, non-linear diffusion and the kinetics of nanosintering, and
the relationships between agglomeration, densification and grain growth.
This chapter will also examine the effects of microstructure and
processing variables.
Key words: nano-particle sintering, sintering, densification, grain growth,
coarsening, size effect.
Note: This chapter is adapted from Chapter 17 'Sintering of ultrafine and
nanosized particles' by Z. Z. Fang and H. Wang, originally published in
Sintering of advanced materials: fundamentals and processes, ed. Z. Z.
Fang, Woodhead Publishing Limited, 2010, ISBN: 978-1-84569-562-0.
13.1
Introduction
Since the emergence of nanoscaled science and technology, the sintering of
nanosized particles has been a topic of both scientific and technological
importance. Sintering is a phenomenon that occurs in a broad range of nano
materials processes, including the synthesis of nano particles and fabrication
of bulk nanocrystalline materials. Moreover, sintering is an important factor
in determining the stability of nano materials, nanoscaled coatings, and
nano devices. Although sintering of nano particles shares the same basic
principles as that of sintering of coarser particles, a number of issues and
