Microstructural aspects of toughening of cubic zirconia-alumina composites
Mirosław M. Bućko, Waldemar Pyda Akademia Górniczo-Hutnicza, Wydział Inżynierii Materiałowej i Ceramiki, al. Mickiewicza 30, 30-059 Kraków
Annals 3 No. 6, 2003 pages 39-46
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abstract The cubic zirconia-alumina particulate composites were prepared by means of pressureless sintering for 2 hrs at 1500ºC of green bodies obtained from a physical mixture of the constituent powders. The composites differed from each other in a size and a content of inclusions but showed a comparable grain size of the matrix. A co-precipitation method followed by hydrothermal crystallization of the yttria-zirconia hydrogel was used to prepare the powder of 8 mol% Y2O3-ZrO2 zirconia solid solution of cubic symmetry. Two different alumina powders were used in the study. The fine-grained γ-Al2O3 powder was a precursor of small alumina inclusions in the composites. The coarse-grained α-Al2O3 powder obtained via calcination of the γ- Al2O3 powder was a precursor of those of a large size. Microstructure and mechanical properties of the composites were investigated. A numerical analysis of SEM micrographs, taken from the polished and thermally etched surfaces, was applied to measure microstructural parameters quantitatively. The values of hardness, HV, and critical stress intensity coefficient KIc, were assessed in the Vickers indentation test. The nature of changes of HV and KIc with alumina content in the composites was independent on the inclusion size. Both HV and KIc were strongly affected by density of the composites. The gradual additive of alumina increased fracture toughness as far as it reached a maximum at the content (5 or 10%), which depended on the alumina inclusion size. A further increase of the alumina content caused the deterioration of fracture toughness. It was proved that the microstructure of the cubic zirconia-alumina particulate composites strongly influenced the fracture toughness. It was found that at the constant content of the inclusions, decreasing their sizes significantly below the grain size of the matrix (more than 3 times) did not lead to the increased values of fracture toughness. The highest increase in fracture toughness was found when the inclusion size was comparable to the matrix grain size. Key words: particulate composite, zirconia, alumina, fracture toughness, microstructure