Permeability and Infiltration of Partially Sintered Ceramics

For infiltration of a molten salt into porous zirconia (relative densities = 0.56 to 0.88), the infiltration depth was found to be a function of both infiltration time and initial compact density. The intrinsic liquid permeability of the porous Y‐TZP was determined by extrapolation of gas permeability data. Permeability values, which ranged from 0.5 × 10 −18 to 25 × 10 −18 m 2 (∼0.5 to 25 microdarcy), could be used to predict the trend in infiltration depth with compact density, though they underestimated the absolute values. The Carman‐Kozeny relationship, which relates the permeability to measurable microstructural parameters, was also evaluated. There was good agreement at relative densities <0.75, but not at the higher densities, likely due to the increasing tortuosity of the flow path as pores shrink and close.