Gibbs-Thomson effect as driving force for liquid film migration: Converting metallic into ceramic fibers through intrinsic oxidation

Liquid film migration is of great practical importance in materials engineering. The phenomenon has been shown to depend on thermal gradients and coherency strain, but no single driving mechanism seems capable of justifying the whole array of experimental observations. On the other hand, the inevitable capillarity effects are often disregarded due to the unknown 3-dimensional geometry of the system. Here, we present evidence of liquid film migration governed primarily by capillarity through a microstructural setup of cylindrical interfaces that allows clear interpretation and modeling. The experiments rely on the strong oxygen-gettering ability of tantalum fibers dispersed in a tungsten matrix and on field-enhanced diffusivity provided by pulse plasma compaction. Tantalum scavenges the residual oxygen present in the W powder and, as a result, oxide films grow around the fibers. These oxide tubes, in liquid state during sintering, migrate toward the fiber axis and eventually become oxide rods surrounded by metallic Ta. The process is driven by the Gibbs-Thomson effect that generates the required composition gradient across the liquid film. An analytical description of the film evolution is implemented by combining the incoming O flux with capillarity-driven migration. Possible contributions from other mechanisms are examined and the relevance of the Gibbs-Thomson effect to the general phenomenon of liquid film migration is established.