[T5] Field Assisted Sintering Technologies

[16B-T5-09] Effect of Electric Field/Current on Sintering Behavior of Yttria during SPS Processing

*K. Morita^{1, 2}, J.-H. Lee¹ (1.National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS), Japan, 2.Kyushu University, Japan)

Keywords:SPS, Current effect, Yttria

The effect of electric field/current has been reported to enhance sintering behavior of various materials such as metals, ceramics and those composites. Although spark-plasma-sintering (SPS) technique has widely been utilized in the densification of various materials, the field/current effects on the sintering remain unclear. Especially for insulator materials such as oxides, the field/current effects in the SPS processing are under discussion. In this work, therefore, the field/current effects in the SPS technique were examined in yttria (Y₂O₃) ceramics by comparing the sintering behavior using conductive and non-conductive die set-ups. The sintering behavior of Y₂O₃ was apparently accelerated under the conductive set-up than under non-conductive die set-up. This suggests that during the SPS processing, applied pulsed electric field/current is likely to contribute to the sintering of Y₂O₃ ceramics.