Sintering behaviour of composite materials borosilicate glass-ZrO2 fibre composite materials

The characteristics and properties of mixtures of a borosilicate glass and ZrO2 fibres obtained from compacts isothermally sintered are presented. Three different particle sizes of glass powder and different sintering temperatures and times have been used to reveal the influence of the specific surface area and the glass matrix viscosity on sintering. The fundamental developed aspects are the sintering kinetics, the dense material characterisation and the study of the sintering mechanisms. The composite materials are suitable for sealing molten carbonate fuel cells (MCFC).