Near-net-shape forming of ceramic powder under cold combination pressing and pressureless sintering

Near-net-shape forming of zirconia powder was investigated under the combination of cold die and isostatic pressing and pressureless sintering. A combination pressing technique, i.e., die compaction under cold isostatic pressing, allowed the forming of a complex shaped ceramic powder body with better dimensional control than that achieved by cold isostatic pressing and more uniform density distribution than that by die pressing. The constitutive models proposed by Kim and co-workers were implemented into a finite element program (ABAQUS) to simulate densification of ceramic powder under cold compaction and pressureless sintering. Finite element calculations were compared with experimental data for density distribution and deformation of zirconia powder compacts under cold combination pressing and pressureless sintering. Finite element results agreed well with experimental data.