Spark plasma sintering of a commercially available granulated zirconia powder: I. Sintering path and hypotheses about the mechanism(s) controlling densification

Spark plasma sintering (SPS) of a commercially available granulated zirconia powder has been investigated. The “relative density/grain size” trajectory, or “sintering path”, has been established for a constant heating rate (50 °C/min) and a constant applied pressure (100 MPa). In addition, an attempt has been made to identify the mechanism(s) that could be invoked for the control of densification during the SPS experiments.