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Microwave Plasma Sintering of Alumina

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 February 2011

D. Lynn Johnson  and
Hunghai Su
D. Lynn Johnson
Affiliation:
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern University Evanston, IL 60208-3108
Hunghai Su
Affiliation:
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern University Evanston, IL 60208-3108
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Abstract

Microwave induced plasma provides an effective heating source for sintering of ceramics without the thermal instability that occurs in microwave sintering of some materials. In the present study, small cylindrical tubes were sintered in a microwave induced oxygen plasma inside a single mode (TM012) cavity. A dilatometer and an optical fiber thermometer (OFT) black body sensor were employed to follow the changes of shrinkage and temperature during the sintering process. A similar specimen setup was built inside a conventional rapid heating furnace for comparison. The estimated activation energies were 468 ± 20 kJ/mol for plasma sintering and 488 ± 20 kJ/mol for conventional sintering. An athermal effect due to the plasma was observed. Sintering data were analyzed using the combined stage sintering model and the results suggest that the athermal effect may be ascribed to an increase of aluminum interstitial concentration during plasma sintering.

Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 430: Symposium O – Microwave Processing of Materials V , 1996 , 629
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 1996

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