New approach of the evolution of densification mechanisms during Spark Plasma Sintering: Application to zirconium (oxy-)carbide ceramics

The kinetics of spark plasma sintered ZrC0.94O0.05 ceramics have been investigated. A change of densification mechanism appears during the intermediate and final sintering stages. During this last stage, the deformation mechanism is similar to the one involved during creep of dense ZrC0.94O0.05 ceramics. The comparison of densification and creep strain rates seems to show that no specific effects strongly enhance strain rate during the final densification stage of Spark Plasma Sintering.