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Definition:
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The process by which intergranular bonds form in a powder or porous material such as snow dry or wet, decreasing thereby the surface energy of the material. In dry snow, direct deposition of water vapour diffusing through the pore space is usually the dominant bond growth mechanism, but several other mechanisms may contribute depending on the prevailing conditions surface, volume, and grain boundary diffusion as well as plastic flow. Externally applied pressures, e.g., overburden by snow or ice, assist the sintering process by so-called pressure sintering.
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