Hot Isostatic Pressing of Alumina and Examination of the Hot Isostatic Pressing Map

The hot isostatic pressing (HIP) of four alumina powders is studied in the temperature range 1100° to 1400°C, at 5‐ to 200‐MPa applied pressure, and for times ranging from 0.5 to 4 h. Density increases with increasing HIP temperature, pressure, and time; decreasing grain size results in increased density after HIP. An empirical relation is derived for grain growth during HIP, and the HIP map proposed by Helle et al. is found applicable to the present results. Densification is governed by the grain‐boundary diffusion of aluminum ions; with the transport coefficient and the grain‐growth values found in the present study, the map can be used to express experimental results to within a factor of 4 for all densification stages except near full density.