9318415 Kingery The objective of this research is to improve the reliability and effectiveness of additive-promoted sintering of ceramics. This process constitutes the vast majority of competitive commercial practice. This requires researching the distribution of additives (i.e., their wetting behavior) and chemistry during the entire process of heating and cooling. The scientific importance of this study is to refocus sintering paradigms away from formally correct but often irrelevant isothermal models towards the more complex and substantial changes occurring during heating and cooling. %%%% The practical importance of the research will be to establish a basis for obtaining enhanced quality and reliability and performance by using a sol-gel process for optimally positioning a small fraction of critical additive. ***
