Sintering of Alumina at Temperatures of 1400°C. and Below

Previous investigators have indicated that both small particles and the addition of certain oxides promote the sintering of alumina at temperatures below 1700°C. By utilizing combinations of oxides and small particle size, the sintering temperature of 96% alumina bodies was reduced in this investigation to the 1300° to 1400°C. range. It is proposed that this low‐temperature sintering is aided by the formation of a liquid phase. Thin sections of the alumina sintered at low temperatures revealed bodies with small grain size whose bulk densities were above 3.80 gm. per cc.