Sintering of Soda-Lime Glass Microspheres Using Spark Plasma Sintering
Résumé
Sintering experiments on soda-lime glass microspheres have been performed using spark plasma sintering in the temperature range 485°C-560°C. Samples with relative densities between 64% and 99.6% have been obtained in about 10 min. For almost fully dense samples, the microstructure exhibits an unusual "interface-like" aspect for a glass. The densification mechanism has been investigated. For temperatures below 522°C, densification proceeds by formation of necks between spheres. For temperatures of and above 522°C, it is proposed that densification proceeds by viscous flow, accommodated by plastic deformation of microspheres, and is controlled by diffusion of oxygen anions in the glass.