Al2O3/Cu-O composites fabricated by pressureless infiltration of paper-derived Al2O3 porous preforms

Al₂O₃/Cu-O composites were fabricated from the paper-derived alumina matrix infiltrated with a Cu-3.2?wt% O alloy. Paper-derived alumina preforms with an open porosity ranging from ～ 14 to ～ 25?vol% were prepared by sintering of alumina-loaded preceramic papers at 1600?°C for 4?h. Pressureless infiltration at 1320?°C for 4?h of the preforms with Cu–O alloy resulted in the nearly dense materials with good mechanical and electrical properties, e.g. fracture toughness up to 6?MPa?m^0.5, four-point-bending strength up to 342?MPa, Young's modulus up to 281?GPa and electrical conductivity up to 2?MS/m depending on the volume fraction of copper alloy in the composites. The technological capability of this approach was demonstrated using prototypes in various engineering fields fabricated by lamination, corrugating and Laminated Object Manufacturing (LOM) methods.     

Mechanical properties of Al2O3/ZrO2 composites

In the present study, both t-phase zirconia and m-phase zirconia particles are incorporated into an alumina matrix. Dense Al₂O₃/(t-ZrO₂+m-ZrO₂) composites were prepared by sintering pressurelessly at 1600 °C. The microstructure of the composites are characterized, the elastic modulus, strength and toughness determined. Because the ZrO₂ inclusions are close to each other in the Al₂O₃ matrix, the yttrium ion originally in t-ZrO₂ particles can diffuse to nearby m-ZrO₂ particles during sintering, and the m-phase zirconia is thus stabilized after sintering. The strength of the Al₂O₃/(t-ZrO₂+m-ZrO₂) composites after surface grinding can reach values as high as 940 MPa, which is roughly three times that of Al₂O₃ alone. The strengthening effect is contributed by microstructural refinement together with the surface compressive stresses induced by grinding. The toughness of alumina is also enhanced by adding both t-phase and m-phase zirconia, which can reach values as high as two times that of Al₂O₃ alone. The toughening effect is attributed mainly to the zirconia t–m phase transformation.     

Al2O3/diopside ceramic composites and their behaviour in simulated body fluid

Al₂O₃/diopside ceramic composites with good mechanical properties were prepared by uniaxial hot-pressing and their biological activity in simulated body fluid was studied by SEM, XRD, FT-IR and EPMA. SEM micrographs showed a lath-like apatite layer to form on the soaked composite surface, whose good biological activity may be of some promise for biomedical application.     

Influence of glass phase on Al2O3 fiber-reinforced Al2O3 composites processed by slip casting

The present work describes the processing of alumina fiber reinforced alumina ceramic preforms consisting of chopped Al₂O₃ fibers (33 wt%) and Al₂O₃ (67 wt%) fine powders by slip casting. The preforms were pre-sintered in air at 1100 °C for 1 h. A lanthanum based glass was infiltrated into these preforms at 1250 °C for 90 min. Linear shrinkage (%) was studied before and after glass infiltration. Pre-sintered and infiltrated specimens were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray, X-ray diffraction, porosimetry and flexural strength. The alumina preforms showed a narrow pore size distribution with an average pore size of ∼50 nm. It was observed that introducing Al₂O₃ fibers into Al₂O₃ particulate matrix produced warp free preforms with minor shrinkage during pre-sintering and glass infiltration. It was observed that the infiltration process fills up the pores and considerably improves the strength and reliability of alumina preform.     

Effect of surface-modified Al2O3 on the thermomechanical properties of polybutylene succinate/Al2O3 composites

This study investigates the effect of the incorporation of alumina particles on the thermomechanical properties of polybutylene succinate (PBS)/Al₂O₃ composites. The alumina surface was modified with the carboxylic groups of maleic acid through simple acid-base and in situ polymerization reactions. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) results revealed the introduction of maleic acid treated alumina significantly affect the morphology of the PBS/Al₂O₃ composites as compared to the neat PBS. The thermal conductivity of the composite (0.411?W?m^?1 K^?1) was more than twice that of neat PBS. The composite containing polymerization-modified alumina showed a 50% increase in storage modulus compared with that of neat PBS. In addition, universal testing machine (UTM) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) measurements indicated an increase in the tensile strength and degree of crystallinity after the incorporation of modified alumina in the PBS/Al₂O₃ composite.     

Grain growth kinetics in microwave sintered graphene platelets reinforced ZrO2/Al2O3 composites

The grain growth kinetics and mechanical properties of graphene platelets(GPLs) reinforced ZrO₂/Al₂O₃(ZTA) composites prepared by microwave sintering were investigated. The calculated grain growth kinetics exponent n indicated that the GPLs could accelerate the process of the Al₂O₃ columnar crystal growth. And the grain growth activation energy of the Al₂O₃ columnar crystal indicated that the grain growth activation energy of the GPLs doped ZTA composites is much higher than those of pure Al₂O₃ and ZTA in microwave sintering. The optimal mechanical properties were achieved with 0.4?vol% GPLs, whose relative density, Vickers hardness and fracture toughness were 98.76%, 18.10?GPa and 8.86?MPa?m^1/2, respectively. The toughening mechanisms were crack deflection, bridging, branching and pull-out of GPLs. The results suggested that GPLs-doped are good for the Al₂O₃ columnar crystal growth in the ZTA ceramic and have a potentially improvement for the fracture toughness of the ceramics.     

High-temperature mechanical behavior of Al2O3/graphite composites

Uniaxial compressive creep behaviour of spark-plasma-sintered Al₂O₃/graphite particulate composites has been studied at temperature between 1250 and 1350 °C. Values of stress exponent, n, ranging from 1 to 1.4 and, activation energy, Q, of 600 ± 40 kJ/mol have been determined. With 10 vol% graphite in the composite, the creep deformation of the composite is controlled by the fine-grained Al₂O₃ matrix, where Coble creep has been identified as the dominant creep mechanism.     

Sintering mechanism and dielectric properties of LiTaO3 matrix composites with the addition of Al2O3 particles

Highly densified Al₂O₃/LiTaO₃ (ALT) ceramic composites were fabricated by hot-pressing in a nitrogen atmosphere. The addition of Al₂O₃ particles could significantly improve the densification of LiTaO₃. Sintering mechanism of the LiTaO₃ ceramic incorporated with Al₂O₃ particles is proposed. Dielectric constant of 5 vol.% Al₂O₃/LiTaO₃ (5ALT) composite ceramic was slightly increased in the range from 30 kHz to 10⁶ Hz, but the dielectric loss was lowered in the whole range from 10³ Hz to 10⁶ Hz. Piezoelectric constant (d₃₃) of the 5ALT ceramic composite is about 50% of that of LiTaO₃ single crystal.     

Characterization and tribological investigation of sol-gel Al2O3 and doped Al2O3 films

Thin films of Al₂O₃ and doped Al₂O₃ were prepared on a glass substrate by dip coating process from specially formulated ethanol sols. The morphologies of the unworn and worn surfaces of the films were observed with atomic force microscope (AFM) and scanning electron microscope (SEM). The chemical compositions of the obtained films were characterized by means of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The tribological properties of obtained thin films sliding against Si₃N₄ ball were evaluated and compared with glass slide on a one-way reciprocating friction tester. XPS results confirm that the target films were obtained successfully. The doped elements distribute in the film evenly and exist in different kinds of forms, such as oxide and silicate. AFM results show that the addition of the doped elements changes the structure of the Al₂O₃ films, i.e., a rougher and smoother surface is obtained. The wear mechanisms of the films are discussed based on SEM observation of the worn surface morphologies. As the results, the doped films exhibit better tribological properties due to the improved toughness. Sever brittle fracture is avoided in the doped films. The wear of glass is characteristic of brittle fracture and severe abrasion. The wear of Al₂O₃ is characteristic of brittle fracture and delamination. And the wear of doped Al₂O₃ is characteristic of micro-fracture, deformation and slight abrasive wear. The introduction of ZnO is recommended to improve the tribological property of Al₂O₃ film.     

Mechanical and dielectric properties of short carbon fiber reinforced Al2O3 composites with MgO additive

A series of short-carbon-fiber/Al₂O₃ composites with MgO as sintering additive were fabricated by pressureless sintering process. The effects of short carbon fiber (C_sf) content on the mechanical, dielectric and microwave absorbing properties of the composite were investigated. The results show that the addition of MgO enhances the density, hardness and the flexural strength of the alumina ceramic. However, these mechanical properties of the C_sf/Al₂O₃–MgO composite decrease with increasing C_sf content. Both the real and imaginary parts of the complex permittivity increase with increasing C_sf content in the frequency range of 8.2–12.4 GHz, which is attributed to the increasing electron polarization and associated polarization relaxation, respectively. When the C_sf content is 0.3 wt%, the reflection loss less than −10 dB and the minimum value of −27 dB are obtained with the coating thickness being 1.4 mm. The results indicate that the C_sf/Al₂O₃ with MgO is an excellent candidate for microwave absorbing material with favorable mechanical property.     

Microstructure and mechanical properties of SiC platelet reinforced BaOAl2O32SiO2 (BAS) composites

BaOAl₂O₃2SiO₂ (BAS) glass–ceramic powders were prepared by sol–gel technique. SiC platelet reinforced BAS glass–ceramic matrix composites with high density and uniform microstructure were fabricated by hot-pressing. The effect of additional crystalline seeds on hexagonal to monoclinic phase transformation of Barium aluminosilicate was studied. The effects of SiC platelet content on the microstructure and mechanical properties of the composites were also investigated. The results showed that the flexural strength and fracture toughness of the BAS glass–ceramic matrix composites can be effectively improved by the addition of silicon carbide platelets. The main toughening mechanism was crack deflection, platelets' pull-out and bridging. The increased value of flexural strength is contributed to the load transition from the matrix to SiC platelets.     

Microstructure and microwave dielectric properties of Al2O3 added Li2ZnTi3O8 ceramics

Recently, the rapid development of advanced communication systems increasingly strongly demands high-performance microwave dielectric ceramics in microwave circuits. Among them, Li₂ZnTi₃O₈ ceramics have been one of the most widely investigated species, due to its high quality factor, moderate firing conditions and low cost. However, the dielectric constants of the already reported Li₂ZnTi₃O₈ ceramics are fixed in a narrow range, limiting their wider applications. To adjust the dielectric constant of the Li₂ZnTi₃O₈ based ceramics, in this work Li₂ZnTi₃O₈ ceramics added with different amounts of Al₂O₃ (0–8?wt%) were prepared by conventional solid-state reaction. The microstructure and microwave dielectric properties of the samples were investigated. Due to the addition of Al₂O₃, the sintering temperature of the ceramics would be increased somewhat. Some Al³⁺ ions could substitute for Ti⁴⁺ ions in Li₂ZnTi₃O₈, and the added Al₂O₃ would react with ZnO to produce a ZnAl₂O₄ phase accompanying with the formation of TiO₂ phase, which would inhibit the growth of Li₂ZnTi₃O₈ grains. The dielectric constant of the finally obtained ceramics would be reduced from 26.2 to 17.9, although the quality factors of the obtained ceramics would decrease somewhat and the temperature coefficient of resonant frequency would deviate further from zero.     

MoSi2–Al2O3 electroconductive ceramic composites

Al₂O₃–MoSi₂ composites with MoSi₂ volume fractions between 16 and 40% were fabricated from commercial ceramic Al₂O₃ and intermetallic MoSi₂ powders by granulation, cold isostatic pressing and vacuum-sintering. The addition of MoSi₂ had only a slight influence on the densification of the composites, with sintered densities of 98% for samples with 16 vol.% MoSi₂ and 94% for samples with 40 vol.% MoSi₂. Composites with MoSi₂ contents of 20 vol.% and higher were electroconductive due to the formation of a three-dimensional percolating network of the conductive MoSi₂ phase.     

Preparation and electrical properties of graphene nanosheet/Al2O3 composites

Fully dense graphene nanosheet(GNS)/Al₂O₃ composites with homogeneously distributed GNSs of thicknesses ranging from 2.5 to 20 nm have been fabricated from ball milled expanded graphite and Al₂O₃ by spark plasma sintering. The percolation threshold of electrical conductivity of the as-prepared GNS/Al₂O₃ composites is around 3 vol.%, and this new composite outperforms most of carbon nanotube/Al₂O₃ composites in electrical conductivity. The temperature dependence of electrical conductivity indicated that the as-prepared composites behaved as a semimetal in a temperature range from 2 to 300 K.     

Effect of Al2O3 on mechanical properties of Ti3SiC2/Al2O3 composite

The effect of Al₂O₃ on mechanical properties of Ti₃SiC₂/Al₂O₃ composite fabricated by SPS was studied systematically. The results show that the hardness of the Ti₃SiC₂/Al₂O₃ composite can reach 10.28 GPa, 50% higher than that of pure Ti₃SiC₂. However, slight decrease in the other mechanical properties was observed with Al₂O₃ addition higher than 5–10 vol.%, which is believed to be due to the agglomeration of Al₂O₃ in the composite.     

Processing and physical properties of Al2O3/aluminum alloy composites

Porous aluminum oxide (Al₂O₃) preforms were formed by sintering in air at 1200 °C for 2 h. A356, 6061, and 1050 aluminum alloys were infiltrated into the preforms by squeeze casting in order to fabricate Al₂O₃/A356, Al₂O₃/6061, and Al₂O₃/1050 composites, respectively, with different volumes of aluminum alloy content. The content of aluminum alloy in the composites was 10–40% by volume. The resistivity of Al₂O₃/A356, Al₂O₃/6061, and Al₂O₃/1050 composites decreased dramatically from 6.41 × 10¹² to 9.77 × 10⁻⁴, 7.28 × 10⁻⁴, and 6.24 × 10⁻⁴ Ω m, respectively, the four-points bending strength increased from 397 to 443, 435.1, 407.2 MPa, respectively, and the deviations were smaller than 2%. From SEM microstructural analysis and TEM bright field images, the pore volume fraction and the relative density of the composites were the most important factors that affected the physical and mechanical properties. The ceramic phase and alloy phase in Al₂O₃/aluminum alloy composites were found to be homogenized and uniformly distributed using electrical and mechanical properties analysis, microstructure analysis, and image analysis.     

Mechanical properties of Al2O3 + ZrO2 + nano-SiCp ceramic composites

The mechanical properties of Al₂O₃ matrix composites reinforced by ZrO₂(2 mol% Y₂O₃) and nanometre scale SiC dispersions have been investigated. It is shown that the Al₂O₃ matrix is simultaneously strengthened and toughened by both ZrO₂(2 mol% Y₂O₃) and nano-SiC particles. The maximum flexural strength and fracture toughness of the composites are 945 MPa and 7.3 MPam^1/2, respectively. The reinforcing effect of both t-m phase transformation of ZrO₂ (2 mol% Y₂O₃) and nano-SiC particles appears to be synergetic.     

Fracture toughness of (Ce) stabilized ZrO2/Al2O3 composites

Three techniques for the determination of K_Ic in Ce-stabilized ZrO₂/Al₂O₃ composites have been evaluated: the single-edge-notched beam (SENB); the indentation strength in bending (ISB) and the indentation fracture (IF). Comparative measurements, performed on samples prepared by sintering uniaxially pressed powders obtained by a chemical route, showed that whatever the technique used, K_Ic increased as the Al₂O₃ grain size decreased.

The three methods give similar results if some procedural improvements are introduced, namely: (i) the polished samples are annealed prior to testing: (ii) a more reproducible notching technique would be developed for the SENB method; and (iii) the crack shape and length are known exactly in the IF technique.

In the IF test, the crack shape profile is of Palmquist type at low indentation loads while a transition to a half-penny-shaped crack occurs at higher loads.     

Fabrication and microstructure evolution of Al2O3/ZrBN-SiCN/Al2O3 high-temperature oxidation-resistant composite coating

The oxidation-resistance of thin film sensors, particularly at high temperatures, is critical for the lifetime and performance of the sensor. The preparation and oxidation-resistance of an Al₂O₃/ZrBN-SiCN/Al₂O₃ composite film with a sandwich-structure was performed using reactive magnetron sputtering. The microstructure evolution of the composite film is examined herein using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) analysis. Oxygen diffusion was significantly inhibited by the formation of crystalline Al₂SiO₅ and Zr-B-C amorphous phase inside the composite film. The Pt-13%Rh/Pt thin film thermocouple (TFTC) with the Al₂O₃/ZrBN-SiCN/Al₂O₃ composite film as a protective layer was fabricated and calibrated. Both the stability and lifetime of the TFTC was significantly enhanced for temperatures up to 1000?℃. The test error of the TFTC was reduced by half, compared with that of the TFTC with the Al₂O₃ protective layer, indicating an excellent oxidation-resistant performance of the composite film.     

Interfacial characterisation of Al2O3-Ni composites

In the present study, the interfacial structure of nickel particle-reinforced alumina composites prepared by a gas reduction process and by reactive sintering is examined by analytical electron microscopy. Amorphous carbon films at the interface and graphite inclusions within the nickel inclusions can be found in products from gas reduction and from reaction sintering, respectively. The microstructural variation results in different amounts of toughness enhancement. Possible explanations for the resulting microstructure and toughness differences are proposed.