First direct 3D visualisation of microstructural evolutions during sintering through X-ray computed microtomography

X-ray computed microtomography (XCMT) has been applied to ceramic samples of different materials to visualise, for the first time at this scale, real 3D microstructural evolutions during sintering. Using this technique, it has been possible to follow the whole sintering process of the same grains set. Two materials have been studied; a glass powder heat treated at 700 °C and a crystallised lithium borate (Li6Gd(BO3)3) powder heat treated at 720 °C. XCMT measurements have been done after different sintering times. For each material, a sub-volume was individualised and localised on the successive recordings and its 3D images numerically reconstructed. Description of the three-dimensional microstructures evolution is proposed. From the 3D experimental data, quantitative evolutions of parameters such as porosity and neck size are presented for the glass sample. Possibilities offered by this technique to study complex sintering processes, as for lithium borate, are illustrated.