A 2D finite difference method was applied to a model of aligned elliptical particles to determine why experimentally the percentage anisotropy varied with sintering strain. The results of the model showed the percentage anisotropy versus sintering shrinkage followed the trends of experimental results. The shape of the curve was affected both by the eccentricity of the ellipses and by the ratio of the grain-boundary diffusion coefficient to the surface diffusion coefficient. The shape of the curves were dominated by the ratio of the length of grain boundary in the direction of the major axis of the ellipse to that the grain-boundary length in the direction of the minor axis of the ellipse. The change in curvature profile near the triple point had some influence but was not as effective in explaining this trend.