Spark Plasma Sintering In A Flash

Many processes and devices use Joule heating to achieve high temperatures, including electric-current-assisted sintering. These techniques became widely available in the 1990s with the commercialisation of spark plasma sintering units produced in Japan. During the past few years, we have experienced renewed interest in rapid consolidation of materials, and total discharge times have been reduced to a few seconds. This article describes the development of a novel flash spark plasma sintering process which enables rapid heating and consolidation of materials at larger volumes than are possible with other rapid-sintering techniques.