Sintering of glass matrix composites containing a particulate inclusion phase

A new equation is presented for predicting the sintering rate of particulate composites. The equation is derived using the analogy between sintering and thermal stresses introduced by Scherer. For composites that sinter by a viscous flow mechanism, i.e. glass matrix composites, the prediction of the equation does not deviate significantly from the Scherer's equation for low volume fraction of inclusions. For high inclusion contents more experimental data is necessary for validation of the equation.