Finite element simulation of a ceramic drying process considering pore shape and porosity

When a green ceramic is dried, the particles flocculate into a fishnet structure in the gel phase. The range of pore size is between the micro-scale and the nano-scale. In general, the elastic properties of porous materials are affected by both pore shape and porosity. Using the homogenization method, the elastic tensor of nanoscopic gel unit cell, varying with the porosity, is first computed. Using the finite element method, the drying process of a green ceramic insulator is simulated, based on the elastic properties of a microscopic particle aggregate unit cell with circular and cross pores, found from the nanoscopic elastic tensor using the homogenization method. Consideration of the pore shape and porosities in a simulation can provide a more accurate residual stress distribution.