Population balance model for solid state sintering II. Grain growth

A novel population balance model based on size interval-by-size interval marching algorithm has been developed for the transient grain growth kinetics during solid state sintering. This model incorporates the coupled phenomena of densification and grain growth and exhibits reasonable capability of predicting the temporal evolution of grain size distribution for a given initial grain size distribution and time-temperature sintering cycle. In this, part II of our work, we present the coupled governing equation for sintering kinetics. We employ a size interval-by-size interval marching algorithm for the solution of the resulting population balance equation and validation of the model against experimental data for zirconia compacts sintered at 1400, 1500 and 1600°C for different times. In addition, the model has been successfully tested against published experimental data on sintering of alumina compacts.