Control of Grain Coarsening During Sintering by Varying the Size Distribution of Alumina Powder: A Discrete Element Method Study
摘要
In this study, DEM simulations were performed to study density evolution and grain growth during sintering of alumina powder. Mass transfer and kinetic parameters were incorporated in the model. The effect of change of parameters such as particle size, size distribution, and change in the number of particles (before and after sintering) was investigated. A narrow to broad range of particle-size distributions was used. For each packing, evolution of grain size distribution and the change in the number of particles during the sintering process were studied. The effect of extremely narrow particle-size distribution on mean grain size was specifically investigated. No grain growth was observed at the end of the simulations for the narrow size distribution. For the broader size distributions, the rate of grain growth increased with the increase in the relative density with a wider range of particle sizes present in the system at the end of the sintering.