A model is developed to describe the evolution of pressure, stress, and green body strength in porous ceramic bodies during the thermal debinding heating cycle. Pressure in the green body arises from the thermally activated decomposition of the binder, and the pressure increase is mitigated by flow through the porous medium. The stress then arises from the pressure gradient within the green ceramic body. The strength model incorporates the effects of solids and binder loading, and the effect of temperature on the yield behavior of the binder. The stress is then compared to the strength of the green body during the heating cycle in order to determine when failure occurs. The assumptions, the necessary experimental data, and the weaknesses in the model are discussed.

Keywords: thermal debinding, binder removal, failure, binders