ReaCer - Reactive sintering of ceramics – project code FA8655-26-1-B029 (CUP E63C26001640005)

ReaCer aims to develop a new fundamental understanding of the consolidation mechanisms activated inreactive hydrothermal liquid-phase sintering, RHLPS. The main goal is to identify a kinetic model for the processand bind it to the physics of the system. This will allow us to clarify the rate-controlling bottlenecks for the reactiveconsolidation, the diffusion pathways, and the activation energy of the process. Remarkably, the assumptions behind this consolidation approach are mechanistically different from those mastering the traditional solid-state sintering models. The fellow should propose a set of experiments that will allow the identification of a physical model for the system evolution in RHLPS and connect it to kinetic equations, including the effect of different processing parameters (time, temperature, particle size, solution molarity, and pH).