Abstract
In many ceramic processing routes organic additions are made which are later removed from the particle assembly before firing. These include residues from the manufacture of chemically derived powders, pressing aids or lubricants used in compaction processes, dispersants and binders added to casting suspensions, and organic vehicles which convey ceramic particles in plastic forming processes such as injection moulding. In many cases, large organic molecules are required to move in the pore structure of ultrafine powder assemblies so that a range of flow regimes, e.g. Knudsen, intermediate, molecular, and viscous, have to be considered. The quantitative evaluation of gas flow in such systems is used to evaluate the pressure that develops during ceramic processing and the viability of heating schedules. This review describes the procedures that can be used for the determination of transport coefficients in such systems and highlights the ways in which simplification can be achieved by judicious approximation. The effects of molecular dimensions and pore size are explored for typical ceramic processing situations.
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