Published online by Cambridge University Press: 21 February 2011
A particular type of grain morphology observed in commercial polycrystalline compacts of α-alumina is discussed along with special features which have been found to be associated with this morphology. The particular feature of interest is the occurrence of grains which are referred to in this paper as being lath-like in appearance. The important features of these lath-like grains include the occurrence of faceted grain boundaries which are often associated with pores and the special geometric relationships between the grains and the surrounding matrix.