Three-Dimensional Finite-Element Analysis of Viscous Sintering

A finite-element model is developed and implemented on a massively parallel supercomputer to study the viscous sintering of a three-dimensional (3-D) configuration of three particles. Model development is described, implementation is discussed, and calculations are compared with benchmark results for a two-dimensional (2-D) axisymmetric case. For the first time, detailed simulation results are shown for the viscous sintering of a 3-D, three-particle system. The calculations predict center approach of particle pairs concurrent with asymmetric neck growth, effects which ultimately lead to an inward rotation of the outer particles. Anisotropic shrinkage arises due to this 3-D rearrangement of the particles during sintering.