ABSTRACT
Anisotropic grain growth is an important but poorly-understood phenomenon in ceramic materials. By viewing anisotropic growth as the growth of a single crystal in a polycrystalline matrix, it is possible to divide criteria into two groups; those intrinsic to the single crystal (crystallography, thermodynamic behavior) and those extrinsic to the single crystal (driving force due to matrix grain size, transport paths, and defect chemistry due to dopants). Al2O3 is presented as a model system and experimental results from this system are used to propose criteria for ceramic materials in general.
