Structure Kinetics of Porous Zirconia Ceramics During Solid-State Sintering

The paper studies the structure kinetics of porous zirconia ceramics sintered at 1600 degrees C with an isothermal holding from 10 to 600 minutes. The key research method is the assessment of the fractal dimension value of the fracture surface as an integral morphological characteristics. It is shown that an introduction of the organic pore-forming particles into the initial ceramic powder leads to the formation of bimodal porosity. The changes in the size of macro- and micropores during sintering are determined from the bulk and grain-boundary diffusion. The fractal dimension evolution reflects the entire complex of changes in the microstructure, including grains and pores, which determines the strength of the studied ceramics and makes it possible to estimate the stages of solid-state sintering.