An evaluation of Al2O3-ZrO2 composites produced by coprecipitation method

The objective of this work is to produce Al₂O₃-ZrO₂ composite from nano-sized powders processed by coprecipitation method. Al₂O₃ and mixture of Al₂O₃ + 10 wt.% ZrO₂ precipitated successfully by chemical route from aluminum sulfate and zirconium sulfate were pressed under uniaxial compression of 170 MPa and sintered at 1600 °C for 1 h. SEM investigations revealed that, pure alumina sample has a microstructure with coarse grains which anisotropically grown up to 30-40 μm in size. In alumina-zirconia composite, the structure consists of very fine equiaxed grains of typically 2 μm in which zirconia precipitates were uniformly dispersed. By adding zirconia to alumina, hardness and indentation fracture toughness were increased from 11.6 GPa to 16.8 GPa and from 3.2 MPa m^1/2 to 4.9 MPa m^1/2, respectively. Improvement in fracture toughness was attributed to bridging effects of zirconia particles as well as transformation toughening.     

Sinter and hot isostatic pressing (HIP) of multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) reinforced ZTA nanocomposite: Microstructure and fracture toughness

This work describes the microstructure and fracture toughness of zirconia toughened alumina (ZTA) nanocomposite in which multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and nanosized ZrO₂ particles were used as reinforcement. The ZTA nanocomposites with additions of 0, 0.005, and 0.01 wt.% MWCNTs and 2 wt.% nanosized ZrO₂ particles were pressureless sintered in an anti-oxidant sagger with graphite powder bed at 1520 °C during 1 h in air and then HIPed at 1475 °C in argon atmosphere 1 h at a pressure of 150 MPa. Relative densities ranging 94–98% were reached. In HIPed composites the hardness and fracture toughness values were increased up to ∼17% and ∼37%, respectively, compared to the “as sintered” composites free of carbon nanotubes. A combined fracture mode, crack deflection, pull-outs of a small amount of carbon nanotubes, and bridging effect were the mechanisms leading to the improvement in fracture toughness.     

Densification and mechanical properties of fine-grained Al2O3-ZrO2 composites consolidated by spark plasma sintering

Alumina matrix composites containing 5 and 10 wt% of ZrO₂ were sintered under 100 MPa pressure by spark plasma sintering process. Alumina powder with an average particle size of 600 nm and yttria-stabilized zirconia with 16 at% of Y₂O₃ and with a particle size of 40 nm were used as starting materials. The influence of ZrO₂ content and sintering temperature on microstructures and mechanical properties of the composites were investigated. All samples could be fully densified at a temperature lower than 1400 °C. The microstructure analysis indicated that the alumina grains had no significant growth (alumina size controlled in submicron level 0.66-0.79 μm), indicating that the zirconia particles provided a hindering effect on the grain growth of alumina. Vickers hardness and fracture toughness of composites increased with increasing ZrO₂ content, and the samples containing 10 wt% of ZrO₂ had the highest Vickers hardness of 18 GPa (5 kg load) and fracture toughness of 5.1 MPa m^1/2.     

Microstructure and mechanical properties of laminated ZrB2-SiC ceramics with ZrO2 interface layers

Laminated ZrB₂-SiC ceramics with ZrO₂ interface layers were successfully prepared by tape casting, laminating and hot pressing. The flexural strength and fracture toughness are 561 ± 20 MPa and 14.4 ± 0.3 MPa m^1/2 for parallel direction, and 432 ± 18 MPa and 5.8 ± 0.3 MPa m^1/2 for perpendicular direction. The fracture toughness for parallel direction is improved significantly compared to monolithic ZrB₂-SiC ceramics. The toughening mechanism was attributed to the deflection and branch of the crack and the new microcracks, which would increase the propagation path and fracture work.     

Bulk WC-Al2O3 composites prepared by spark plasma sintering

WC and WC-Al₂O₃ materials without metallic binder addition were densified by spark plasma sintering in the range of 1800-1900 °C. The densification behavior, phase constitution, microstructure and mechanical properties of pure WC and WC-Al₂O₃ composite were investigated. The addition of Al₂O₃ facilitates sintering and increases the fracture toughness of the composites to a certain extent. An interesting phenomenon is found that a proper content of Al₂O₃ additive helps to limit the formation of W₂C phase in sintered WC materials. The pure WC specimen possesses a hardness (HV₁₀) of 25.71 GPa, fracture toughness of 4.54 MPa·m^1/2, and transverse fracture strength of 862 MPa, while those of WC-6.8 vol.% Al₂O₃ composites are 24.48 GPa, 6.01 MPa·m^1/2, and 1245 MPa respectively. The higher fracture toughness and transverse fracture strength of WC-6.8 vol.% Al₂O₃ are thought to result from the reduction of W₂C phase, the crack-bridging by Al₂O₃ particles and the local change in fracture mode from intergranular to transgranular.     

On the wide range of mechanical properties of ZTA and ATZ based dental ceramic composites by varying the Al2O3 and ZrO2 content

In this work the influence of pressureless sintering on the Vickers hardness and fracture toughness of ZrO₂ reinforced with Al₂O₃ particles (ATZ) and Al₂O₃ reinforced with ZrO₂ particles (ZTA) has been investigated. The ceramic composites were produced by means of uniaxial compacting at 50 MPa and the green compacts were heated to 1250 °C using a heating rate of 10 °C min⁻¹, then to 1500 °C at 6 °C min⁻¹ and maintained at this temperature during 2 h. After sintering, relative density over 94%, hardness values between 9.5 and 21.9 GPa, and fracture toughness as high as 3.6 MPa m^1/2 were obtained. The presence of TZ-3Y particles on the grain boundaries suggests that they inhibit notably the alumina grain growth. The grain sizes of pure Al₂O₃ and TZ-3Y as well as Al₂O₃ and TZ-3Y in the 20 wt% Al₂O₃+80 wt% TZ-3Y composite were 1.27 ± 0.51 μm, 0.57 ± 0.12 μm, 0.65 ± 0.19 μm and 0.41 ± 0.14 μm, respectively. The 20 wt% Al₂O₃ + 80 wt% ZrO₂ + 3 mol% Y₂O₃ (TZ-3Y) composite showed a hardness of 16.05 GPa and the maximum fracture toughness (7.44 MPa m^1/2) with an average grain size of 0.53 ± 0.17 μm. On the other side, the submicron grain size and residual porosity seem to be responsible for the high hardness and fracture toughness obtained. The reported values were higher than those obtained by other authors and are in concordance with international standards that could be suitable for dental applications.     

The effect of particle size,sintering temperature and sintering time on the properties of Al–Al2O3 composites,made by powder metallurgy

Al₂O₃ is a major reinforcement in aluminum-based composites, which have been developing rapidly in recent years. The aim of this paper is to investigate the effect of alumina particle size, sintering temperature and sintering time on the properties of Al–Al₂O₃ composite. The average particle size of alumina were 3, 12 and 48 μm. Sintering temperature and time were in the range of 500–600 °C for 30–90 min. A correlation is established between the microstructure and mechanical properties. The investigated properties include density, hardness, microstructure, yield strength, compressive strength and elongation to fracture. It has been concluded that as the particle size of alumina is reduced, the density is increased followed by a fall in density. In addition, at low particle size, the hardness and yield strength and compressive strength and elongation to fracture were higher, compared to coarse particles size of alumina. The variations in properties of Al–Al₂O₃ composite are dependent on both sintering temperature and time. Prolonged sintering times had an adverse effect on the strength of the composite.     

Fabrication of A356 composite reinforced with micro and nano Al2O3 particles by a developed compocasting method and study of its properties

Aluminum/alumina composites are used in automotive and aerospace industries due to their low density and good mechanical strength. In this study, compocasting was used to fabricate aluminum-matrix composite reinforced with micro and nano-alumina particles. Different weight fractions of micro (3, 5 and 7.5 wt.%) and nano (1, 2, 3 and 4 wt.%) alumina particles were injected by argon gas into the semi-solid state A356 aluminum alloy and stirred by a mechanical stirrer with different speeds of 200, 300 and 450 rpm. The microstructure of the composite samples was investigated by Optical and Scanning Electron Microscopy. Also, density and hardness variation of micro and nano composites were measured. The microstructure study results revealed that application of compocasting process led to a transformation of a dendritic to a nondendritic structure of the matrix alloy. The SEM micrographs revealed that Al₂O₃ nano particles were surrounded by silicon eutectic and inclined to move toward inter-dendritic regions. They were dispersed uniformly in the matrix when 1, 2 and 3 wt.% nano Al₂O₃ or 3 and 5 wt.% micro Al₂O₃ was added, while, further increase in Al₂O₃ (4 wt.% nano Al₂O₃ and 7.5 wt.% micro Al₂O₃) led to agglomeration. The density measurements showed that the amount of porosity in the composites increased with increasing weight fraction and speed of stirring and decreasing particle size. The hardness results indicated that the hardness of the composites increased with decreasing size and increasing weight fraction of particles.     

Effect of ball milling the hybrid reinforcements on the microstructure and mechanical properties of Mg-(Ti + n-Al2O3) composites

In this study, composites containing pure magnesium and hybrid reinforcements (5.6 wt.% titanium (Ti) particulates and 2.5 wt.% nanoscale alumina (n-Al₂O₃) particles) were synthesized using the disintegrated melt deposition technique followed by hot extrusion. The hybrid reinforcement addition into the Mg matrix was carried out in two ways: (i) by direct addition of the reinforcements into the Mg-matrix, Mg-(5.6Ti + 2.5n-Al₂O₃) and (ii) by pre-synthesizing the composite reinforcement by ball milling and its subsequent addition into the Mg-matrix, Mg-(5.6Ti + 2.5n-Al₂O₃)_BM. Microstructural characterization revealed significant grain refinement due to reinforcement addition. The evaluation of mechanical properties indicated a significant improvement in microhardness, tensile and compressive properties of the composites when compared to monolithic magnesium. For the Mg-(5.6Ti + 2.5n-Al₂O₃) composite, wherein the reinforcements were directly added into the matrix, the improvement in strength properties occurred at the expense of ductility. For the Mg-(5.6Ti + 2.5n-Al₂O₃)_BM composites with pre-synthesized ball-milled reinforcements, the increase in strength properties was accompanied by an increase/retention of ductility. The observed difference in behaviour of the composites is primarily attributed to the morphology and distribution of the reinforcements obtained due to the ball-milling process, thereby resulting in composites with enhanced toughness.     

Microstructure and mechanical properties of ZrB2–Nb composite

The high relative density of the ZrB₂-based composite toughened by 25 vol.%Nb (ZN) was hot-pressed at reduced temperatures with low pressure of 30 MPa. Compared with the toughness of 2.3–3.5 MPa m^1/2 and strength of 350 MPa of the monolithic ZrB₂, the toughness and strength of the ZN composite were improved to 6.7 MPa m^1/2 and 773 MPa, respectively, due to the addition of ductile Nb. The toughening mechanisms are crack deflection and branching as well as stress relaxation near the crack tip. Furthermore, the densification mechanism was analyzed and discussed. The results here pointed to a potential method for improving fracture toughness and strength of ZrB₂-based ceramics.     

The capability of hibonite elongated grains to influence physical,microstructural, and mechanical properties of zirconia toughened alumina–CeO2–MgO ceramics

This work investigated the capability of hibonite (CaAl₁₂O₁₉) phase on structure and microstructure of zirconia toughened alumina–CeO₂–MgO ceramics. Three different additives (CeO₂, MgO and CaCO₃) were introduced into zirconia toughened alumina ceramics prepared by solid state reaction. X-ray diffraction and FESEM analyses were employed to observe the role of secondary phases especially hibonite and its influence on the microstructural features and other properties. Among the secondary phases present, EDX analysis revealed that hibonite phase contributed to elongated grains. Vickers indentations hinted a strong difference in the efficiency of compositional adjustment among the composites. The excellent Vickers hardness and fracture toughness results obtained for 3 wt.% CaCO₃ additions showed the appearance of 5.9% hibonite with the value of 1485 HV and 7.10 MPa·√m, respectively.     

Mechanical and tribological performance of Al2O3-TiO2 coatings elaborated by flame and plasma spraying

Mechanical properties and wear rates of Al₂O₃-13 wt.% TiO₂ (AT-13) and Al₂O₃-43 wt.% TiO₂ (AT-43) coatings obtained by flame and atmospheric plasma spraying were studied. The feed stock was either ceramic cords or powders. Results show that the wear resistance of AT-13 coatings is higher than that of AT-43 and it seems that the effect of hardness on wear resistance is more important than that of toughness. Additionally, it was established that, according to conditions used to elaborate coatings and the sliding tribological test chosen, spray processes do not seem to have an important effect on the wear resistance of these coatings.     

Fabrication and mechanical properties of ultrafine grained WC-10Co-0.45Cr3C2-0.25VC alloys

The ultrafine grained WC-10Co-0.45Cr₃C₂-0.25VC alloys were fabricated through planetary ball milling and low pressure sintering. The effects of the cobalt particle size, milling speed and sintering temperature on the microstructure, hardness and fracture toughness of the ultrafine grained alloys were investigated using optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and mechanical testing. The results showed that the mechanical properties of the low pressure-sintered alloys substantially depend on the milling speed and sintering temperature. At the same time, the hardness and fracture toughness of the samples can be increased from 1703 MPa and 8.90 MN m^−3/2 to 1789 MPa and 11.21 MN m^−3/2, respectively, when the cobalt particle size is reduced from 17 μm to 1.4 μm.     

The corrosion behavior of plasma sprayed Fe2Al5 coating in molten Zn

Aluminum coating was plasma sprayed on Fe-0.14-0.22 wt.% C steel substrate, and heat diffusion treatment at 923 °C for 4 h was preformed to the aluminum coating to form Fe₂Al₅ inter-metallic compound coating. The corrosion mechanism of the Fe₂Al₅ coating in molten zinc was investigated. SEM and EDS analysis results show that the corrosion process of the Fe₂Al₅ layer in molten zinc is as follows: Fe₂Al₅ → Fe₂Al₅Zn_x (η) → η + L(liquid phase) → L + η + δ(FeZn₇) → L + δ → L. The η phase and the eutectic structure (η + δ) prevent the diffusion of zinc atoms efficiently. Therefore the Fe₂Al₅ coating delays the reaction between the substrate and molten zinc, promoting the corrosion resistance of the substrate.     

Investigations on synthesis of HfB2 and development of a new composite with TiSi2

This paper presents the results of investigation carried out on synthesis and densification of monolithic HfB₂ and the effect of TiSi₂ as sinter additive. Pure phase HfB₂ was prepared by boron carbide reduction of HfO₂ and hot pressed to full density with the addition of TiSi₂. Isothermal oxidation study of this composite was carried out at 850 °C up to 64 h. Formation of HfB₂ was seen at 1200 °C but pure HfB₂ was formed at a much higher temperature of 1875 °C in vacuum. Hot pressing of HfB₂ at 1850 °C and 35 MPa pressure gave a compact of 80% TD. Addition of TiSi₂ helped in achieving a much higher density at a lower temperature of 1600 °C and a pressure of 20 MPa. A fully dense composite of HfB₂ and TiSi₂ was obtained with 15% TiSi₂. Hardness and fracture toughness of this composite were 27.4 ± 1.9 GPa and 6.6 ± 0.2 MPa m^1/2, respectively. Considerable deflection was observed in the crack propagation in composites. Oxidation studies indicated the formation of HfO₂, SiO₂, TiO₂ and HfSiO₄ with some glassy phase and the composite with 15% TiSi₂ was seen to be completely covered with a protective glassy layer.     

Effect of MgO particle size on the microstructure, mechanical properties and wear performance of ZTA-MgO ceramic cutting inserts

The mechanical properties, microstructure and wear performance of zirconia-toughened alumina (ZTA) cutting inserts with Magnesia (MgO) in different particle sizes as additives was investigated. The MgO particle sizes were varied from 80 nm to 7000 nm. The alumina (Al₂O₃), yittria stabilized zirconia (YSZ) and MgO powders were mixed, compacted and sintered at 1600 °C using the solid-state sintering method. The mechanical and physical properties of the samples such as wear resistance, Vickers hardness, fracture toughness, microstructure and density were analyzed. Commercially available stainless steel (316L) was used as the workpiece for the wear resistance study. It was observed that smaller MgO particle sizes induce better wear performance and mechanical properties for the cutting inserts. Wear resistance analysis showed that the cutting insert with nano-sized MgO (particle size 80 nm) had the lowest wear area of 0.019 mm². The same cutting insert also possessed the highest Vickers hardness value of 1740 Hv compared to the other samples. Furthermore, microstructural observations show that the Al₂O₃ grain size depends on the particle size of MgO, and is directly related to its hardness property.     

The magnetic, structure and mechanical properties of rapidly solidified (Nd7Y2.5)-(Fe64.5Nb3)-B23 nanocomposite permanent magnet

The Nd₇Y_2.5Fe_64.5Nb₃B₂₃ nanocomposite permanent magnets in the form of rods with 2 mm in diameter have been developed by annealing the amorphous precursors produced by copper mold casting technique. The phase evolution, structure, magnetic and mechanical properties were investigated with X-ray diffractometry, differential scanning calorimetry, electron microscopy, magnetometry and universal uniaxial compression strength techniques. The heat treatment conditions under which the magnets attained maximum magnetic and mechanical properties have been established. The results indicate that magnet properties are sensitive to grain size and volume content of the magnetic phases present in the microstructure. The composite microstructure was mainly composed of soft α-Fe (20-30 nm) and hard Nd₂Fe₁₄B (45-65 nm) magnetic phase grains. The maximum coercivity of 959.18 kA/m was achieved with the magnets annealed at 760 °C whereas the highest remanence of 0.57 T was obtained with the magnets treated at 710 °C. The optimally annealed magnets possessed promising magnetic properties such as _jH_c of 891.52 kA/m, B_r of 0.57 T, M_r/M_s = 0.68, (BH)_max of 56.8 kJ/m³ as well as the micro-Vickers hardness (H_v) of 1138 ± 20 and compressive stress (σ_f) of 239 ± 10 MPa.     

Characterization and mechanical testing of alumina-based nanocomposites reinforced with niobium and/or carbon nanotubes fabricated by spark plasma sintering

Alumina-based nanocomposites reinforced with niobium and/or carbon nanotubes (CNT) were fabricated by advanced powder processing techniques and consolidated by spark plasma sintering. Raman spectroscopy revealed that single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNT) begin to break down at sintering temperatures >1150 °C. Nuclear magnetic resonance showed that, although thermodynamically unlikely, no Al₄C₃ formed in the CNT-alumina nanocomposites, such that the nanocomposite can be considered as purely a physical mixture with no chemical bond formed between the nanotubes and ceramic matrix. In addition, in situ single-edge notched bend tests were conducted on niobium and/or CNT-reinforced alumina nanocomposites to assess their toughness. Despite the absence of subcritical crack growth, average fracture toughness values of 6.1 and 3.3 MPa m^1/2 were measured for 10 vol.% Nb and 10 vol.% Nb-5 vol.% SWCNT-alumina, respectively. Corresponding tests for the alumina nanocomposites containing 5 vol.% SWCNT, 10 vol.% SWCNT, 5 vol.% double-walled-CNT and 10 vol.% Nb yielded average fracture toughnesses of 3.0, 2.8, 3.3 and 4.0 MPa m^1/2, respectively. It appears that the reason for not observing improvement in fracture toughness of CNT-reinforced samples is because of either damage to CNTs or possibly non-optimal interfacial bonding between CNT-alumina.     

Microstructure and fracture toughness of Ti(C0.7N0.3)-WC-Ni cermets

Mo₂C is normally added to improve the wettability between Ti(C,N) and Ni in Ti(C,N)-based cermets. Due to the increasing price of Mo₂C, much attention has been paid to Ti(C,N)-based cermets with WC addition. In this paper, effect of WC content on the microstructure and properties of Ti(C_0.7N_0.3)-xWC-15wt.%Ni cermets free of Mo₂C was studied. The experimental results show that the microstructure is refined obviously with the increase of WC content. The fracture toughness decreases with the increase of WC content when WC content is 10-25 wt.%, and increases when WC content varies from 25 wt.% to 30 wt.%.     

Microstructure, billet surface quality and tensile property of (Al2O3 + Al3Zr)p/Al composites in situ synthesized with electromagnetic field

The aluminum matrix composites reinforced by Al₂O₃ and Al₃Zr particulates were fabricated via in situ chemical reaction between Al-15 wt.% Zr(CO₃)₂ systems. In the process of in situ reaction, a low frequency electromagnetic field (EMF) is employed to improve the conditions of reaction between reactants powder and melt. The optimized electromagnetic density of low frequency EMF is 0.025 T. During the direct chill casting process of composites melt, the custom-designed electromagnetic fields are introduced to control the microstructures and improve the billet surface quality. XRD analysis shows that Al₂O₃ and Al₃Zr reinforcement phases have been obtained. The Lorenz force improves the kinetic condition and accelerates the nucleation of endogenetic particulates. Microstructure analysis by SEM indicates that the average size of particulates and grain size of matrix are refined to 0.5-1 μm and 20-40 μm, respectively. The surface quality of round billet is greatly improved by the high frequency EMF. The results of tensile properties test show that the tensile strength of composites in situ fabricated with EMF is 254.6 MPa, which is increased by about 104 MPa and 69.4% compared with those of composites in situ fabricated without EMF.