The effects of crystallography on grain-boundary migration in alumina

The sintering process of ceramics involves mass transport across grain boundaries resulting in the migration of these boundaries. When there is a liquid at the interface—as in liquid-phase sintering—the mass transport can be enhanced. In this study, electron backscatter diffraction has been used to examine grain-boundary migration of controlled interfaces in alumina. The interfaces were prepared by hot pressing single-crystal and polycrystalline alumina to single-crystal alumina substrates of known orientation. EBSD patterns, taken near the sintered interfaces, have been used to study the effects of crystallography on migration direction and rate. C 2006 Springer Science + Business Media, Inc.