Numerical Modeling and Experimental Characterization of the Pyroplasticity in Ceramic Materials during Sintering

Abstract

The aim of the work is the study of the pyroplasticity in ceramic materials in order to simulate the deformations of complex ceramic component during sintering. A ceramic material undergoing densification can be treated as a linear viscous material. Generally, the viscosity decreases as the temperature increases, however the densification and the consequent grain growth, result in a viscosity increase. A bending creep test is proposed for measuring the change in viscosity of the ceramic material during densification. Equations, based on beam deflection theory, are derived to determine the viscosity during the whole firing cycle by measuring the deflection in the centre of specimens. In addition, dilatometric analyses are performed to measure the sintering shrinkage and the specimen density, which continuously changes during the sintering process. On the basis of an accurate experimental characterization the parameters of Maxwell viscoelastic constitutive law are derived. A numerical-experimental procedure has been adopted in order to calibrate the numerical model that, finally, has been used to predict the pyroplastic deformations of complex ceramic components.