WP2 – In-situ simultaneous studies of the sintering and the crystallization

Start and end of the work package: from Month 04 to Month 18

It is devoted to in-situ simultaneous studies of the thermal processes during sintering and crystallization, using isothermal and non-isothermal conditions. Will be defined the relation between two crystal phases – one, determining the crystallization shrinkage and second, determining the crystallization porosity. These studies will be performed on different compositions and fractions. Additional non-isothermal studies by optical non-contact dilatometer, and DTA on selected compositions and fractions, using different thermal gradient during heating will be done. Thus will be determined the activation energy for sintering and crystallization. This is a prerequisite for constructing a model towards evaluation of the sinter-crystallization ability of the studied materials. High temperature XRD studies will be also included. The percentage of formed crystal phase, at which the sintering process stops will be evaluated for different compositions and fractions.