Modeling microstructural evolution during sintering in a complex powder compact

Sintering theory has been developed either as the application of complex diffusion mechanisms to a simple geometry or as the deformation and shrinkage of a continuum body. We present a model that can treat in detail both the evolution of microstructure and the sintering mechanisms, on the mesoscale, so that constitutive equations with detailed microstructural information can be generated. The model is capable of simulating vacancy diffusion by grain boundary diffusion, annihilation of vacancies at grain boundaries resulting in densification, and coarsening of the microstructural features. In this paper, we review the capabilities of this model and present a number of different problems that have been treated by the model. Finally, we discuss the limitations of this model.