Strain rate dependence of the contribution of surface diffusion to bulk sintering viscosity

Modeling of bulk sintering viscosity usually neglects the contribution of pore surface diffusion with respect to grain-boundary diffusion. This approximation is questionable at the high densification rates used today in advanced fast sintering techniques. A two-dimensional analysis of the problem shows that the influence of surface diffusion on bulk viscosity at high strain rate can be decomposed as the sum of two terms: a term linked to the change in pore surface curvature and a term linked to the change in grain-boundary size. The computational procedure relies on the partition of pore profile evolution into a transient component accounting for non-densifying phenomena and an asymptotic component accounting for strain-rate-controlled phenomena. The largest impact of surface diffusion is found to arise from the change in grain-boundary size. It follows a transition from Newtonian viscosity at low strain rate to non-Newtonian viscosity which, during densification, increases nearly linearly with strain rate. In some conditions, viscosity can then reach more than twice the value estimated when neglecting pore surface diffusion. Reversely, expansion is accompanied by a decrease in grain-boundary size which causes a decrease in viscosity and can lead to grain separation at high strain rate.