Effect of Zonal Isolation on the Kinetics of Sintering aParticulate Body

This paper describes the so-called meso-scale simulations of sintering a particulate body.Computations were made using 3D structure-imitation computer model of evolution ofa powder compact during sintering. It was demonstrated, that in powder bodies theeffect of zonal isolation (forming separate groups of particles during sintering) determinesfeatures of shrinkage and internal structure of a compact. In case of the diffusion-viscous flow of particles the fact was proved that the zonal isolation ispredetermined by ratio of viscosity and free surface energy. It was verified, that thereis a critical value of the above ratio with respect to which the balance of internal structure-creating processes is determined.