Characterization of pore evolution in ceramics during creep failure and densification. Final report, April 15, 1984--April 14, 1995

This research program was divided into two phases, one involving creep cavitation, the other cavity evolution during sintering. In the former, work was aimed at determining the effect of microstructure and stress state upon creep cavitation, while in the latter, the principal objective was the characterization of pore evolution during sintering. In order to meet these objectives, the creep cavitation portion of the program was centered around small-angle neutron scattering, supplemented by electron microscopy and precision density measurements. The neutron scattering measurements yielded cavity nucleation and growth rates, and average pore, size, distribution, and morphology. These data were used to evaluate current cavitation models, and to implement improved modelling efforts. Additionally, stereoimaging analysis was used to determine grain boundary sliding displacements, which appear to be the critical driving force responsible for cavity nucleation and early growth. Effort in the pore sintering phase focussed on characterization of pore evolution during intermediate and final stage sintering of alumina using both single and multiple scattering techniques. Electron microscopy, density measurements, and mercury intrusion porosimetry measurements complemented the scattering results. The effects of sintering trajectory, green state, powder morphology, and additives were evaluated. These results were compared to current sintering models