Science of sintering : new directions for materials processing and microstructural control

I. Fundamentals of Sintering.- Sintering of Ceramics.- The Main Trends in Study and Quantitative Description of the Sintering Processes.- Stereological Theory of Sintering.- A Stereology-Based Equation for Isotropic Shrinkage During Sintering by Viscous Flow.- A New Model for Initial Sintering of Oxide Powders under Controlled Gaseous Atmosphere.- Mechanism of Anisotropic Dimensional Changes During Sintering of Metal Powder Compact.- II. Controlled Preparation of Ceramic Powders.- Preparation of Well Defined Ceramic Powders.- Progress in Preparation of ZnO Based Varistor Ceramics.- Chemical Preparation of Alumina-Zirconia Powders for Low Temperature Sintering and Particulate Composites.- Evolution of Mullite from a Solgel Precursor.- The Role of Powder Calcination Conditions in the Sintering Behaviour of Calcined ZrO2 Powders.- Surface Effect of MgO Addition on Gamma Al2O3 Sintering.- III. Preparation and Sintering of Metallic Powders.- Principles of Atomization.- Dispersion Hardening of a Rapidly Solidified Copper Based Matrix.- Problem of Sintering Metallic Ultrafine Powders.- Sintering of Copper Ultrafine Powders.- Synthesis and Characterization of the Mixed and the Composite Ni-TiN Ultrafine Particles.- IV. Sintering of Multiphase Systems.- Phase Stability and Sintering of Multiphase Alloy Systems.- Solid State Sintering of Two Component Systems with Solubility.- Prognosis of Sintering of System W-Ni in the Presence of Liquid Phase.- Influence of Sintering and Termomechanical Treatment on Microstructure and Properties of W-Ni-Fe Alloys.- Removal of Ni-Activator from the Activated Sintered W-Compact by High Vacuum Treatment.- V. Pressure Sintering.- Explosive Compaction of Powders: Principle and Prospects.- Theoretical Aspects of High Pressure Sintering.- Dynamic Compaction of Amorphous Ni78P22.- The Prediction of HIP Parameters for Intermetallic Prealloyed Ni-Al Powder.- Defect Healing Mechanisms During Sinter/HIP of Polyphase Materials.- Residual Stress Characteristics of Ceramic Coatings and Their Cracking Behaviour.- VI. Rate Controlled Sintering.- Rate Controlled Sintering for Ceramics and Selected Powder Metals.- Application of Rate Controlled Sintering in the Production of ZrO2-Based Ceramic Materials.- Rate-Controlled Sintering of SiC with Additions of (a) Al2O3 + Y2O3 (b) B + C (c) B4C + C.- VII. Microstructure Control.- Grain Boundaries in Sintering.- Computer Simulation and Experimental Analysis of Abnormal Grain Growth in BaTiO3 Ceramics.- Pore Removal During Final Stage Sintering of Modified Yttria.- Thermoelectric Properties of Lead Tin Telluride Compacts.- Microstructural Development in Dense Si3N4 Ceramics.- Effect of Sintering Parameters on Microstructure and Properties of Sialon Materials.- VIII. Metals and Composite Processing.- Powder Processing of High Temperature Aluminide-Matrix Composites.- Differential Sintering.- Boron/Magnesium-Aluminium Machinable Composite.- Effect of Inheritance in Powder Metallurgy.- Hydrostatic Compaction of Fine Cobalt Powder.- Mechanical Properties of Cu-P Sintered Alloyed Steels: Study of the Copper Influence on Dimensional Changes.- IX. Sintering of Oxide Ceramics.- Ultra-Rapid Sintering of Ceramics.- Hydrothermal ZrO2 Powder and Its Sintering Behaviour.- Effect of Green Compact Pore Size Distribution on the Sintering of ?-Fe2O3.- Effect of Niobia on the Sintering of SnO2.- Kinetics and Mechanisms of Solid State Sintering of Alkaline Earth Titanates.- The Influence of Thermal Treatment on Polarization Behaviour of Bi4Ti3O12 Ceramics.- Changes of Electrical and Structural Characteristics of Cold Sintered Potassium Dihydrogen Arsenate with Temperature.- A Study of Isothermal Sintering and Properties of Magnesium Oxide from Sea Water.- X. High Temperature Superconductors.- Properties of High Tc Superconducting Oxides.- The Influence of Oxygen Stoichiometry on High-Tc YBa2Cu3Oy Superconductor Properties.- A Modified Noncontact Method for Critical Temperature Measurements of High Temperature Superconductors.- XI. Non-Oxide Ceramics.- On the Kinetics of Densification During Liquid Phase Sintering of Si3N4.- Stability of Pure and AlN-Alloyed Al2OC and Influence on Abrasive Properties of Al2O3-Al4C3-AlN Materials.- Preparation and Properties of ?/? Sialon Composites.- International Program Committee.- Contributors.