Pixelated sintering of α-Al2O3

Iñaki Cornu (1, 2) , Maxime Cheype (1) , Marion Baudier-Pons (2) , Jean-François Léon (3) , Samuel Couillaud (3) , Fabrice Rossignol (1) , Jean-Marc Heintz (2)

1 IRCER - Institut de Recherche sur les CERamiques
2 ICMCB - Institut de Chimie de la Matière Condensée de Bordeaux
3 Galtenco Solutions Company

The sintering of α-alumina by a brand new and innovative technique, called pixelated sintering (PS), is here studied. Densification and grain growth by PS of perfectly controlled granular compacts are analysed and compared to results obtained using Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS) and Pressure-Less SPS (PL-SPS). Materials are exposed to the same temperature profiles whatever the sintering technique used in order to assess the potential of PS in terms of microstructure control. It is shown that PS can be used as an alternative technique to SPS for fast sintering with the advantages of a much simpler and cost-effective setup , as well as a better control of the localised heat input. PS also appears to be a very modular technology in the way it controls the temperature gradients allowing its implementation for multi-step sintering approaches, as well as for the fabrication of large and complex parts.

Domaines: Matériaux

Iñaki Cornu, Maxime Cheype, Marion Baudier-Pons, Jean-François Léon, Samuel Couillaud, et al.. Pixelated sintering of α-Al2O3. Journal of the European Ceramic Society, 2022, 42 (13), pp.5885-5892. ⟨10.1016/j.jeurceramsoc.2022.06.007⟩. ⟨hal-03706332⟩