Mechanical Properties of Tape-Cast Alumina-Glass Dental Composites

Alumina-glass dental composites were prepared by tape casting and sintering at 1120°C, followed by glass infiltration at 1100°C. Flexural strength and fracture toughness of the composites were investigated in terms of the influence of tape constituents, namely, alumina powder, binder, and plasticizer, on the mechanical properties. Both strength and toughness increased with increasing alumina fraction in tapes and decreased with increasing binder content in binder/plasticizer mixtures. These observations were consistent with the influence of the constituents on mean alumina particle distance in tapes, suggesting that the high strength of glass-infiltrated alumina composites is related to toughening by crack bowing. The strength and fracture toughness of the tape-cast composites, optimized for forming dental crowns, were 508 MPa and 3.1 MPa·m^1/2, respectively, obtained from biaxial tests. Shrinkage of the composites decreased with increasing thermocompression pressure, applied to the tapes prior to sintering, and heating rate to the sintering temperature.