Master sintering curve and activation energy of sintering of ZrO2-doped Al2O3

Abstract Master sintering curve (MSC) was used to make an estimation of the apparent activation energies of undoped Al2O3 and ZrO2-doped Al2O3 samples in the intermediate density range (60–83%). ZrO2 at low concentrations of 2000 ppm and 5000 ppm were used for doping Al2O3. Dilatometric studies were performed using three different heating rates (5, 7.5, and 10 °C/min) on undoped and ZrO2-doped Al2O3 samples to construct the MSCs. The validity of the MSCs was verified by experimental runs on the undoped and doped Al2O3 compacts. The apparent activation energies of Al2O3 was found to be 539 kJ/mol, and the same for the ZrO2-doped Al2O3 samples were 670 kJ/mol (for 2000 ppm doping) and 790 kJ/mol (for 5000 ppm doping), respectively. The effects of the low concentrations of ZrO2 on the densification behaviour and activation energy of sintering of Al2O3 were underpinned.