Bending creep test to measure the viscosity of porous materials during sintering

A bending creep test is proposed for measuring the change in viscosity of a porous material during densification. Equations, based on simple beam deflection theory, were derived to obtain the viscosity from a series of loading experiments using rectangular samples of different densities. By measuring the deflection in the center of the specimen between the spans, the viscosity of a porous material during densification can be measured. Experiments with porous Y₂O₃-stabilized ZrO₂ beams were used to illustrate the bending creep test. Consistent with theory the viscosity increased from 50 to 400 GPa·s as the sample densified from 87% to 98% density. The rapid increase in viscosity was considered to be a result of both densification and grain growth.