Study of sintering of poly(methyl methacrylate)

Sintering of poly(methyl metacrylate) spheres to the blocks of the same material was studied at temperatures ranging from 127° to 207°C. The analysis of the data based on the empirical Ostwald relation indicates that the predominant mechanism responsible for this process is non-Newtonian viscous flow. The type of the flow changes with temperature of sintering, being pseudo-plastic at lower temperatures and tending to dilatancy at higher ones.