| Abstract: | The aim of the present research is to provide a technique for preparing open-cell AI203-ZrO2 ceramic foams with uniform cell size. This technique used plant seeds to array templates and centrifugal slip casting to obtain cell struts with high packing density. Aqueous Al2O3-ZrO2 slurries with up to 50 vol.% solid contents were prepared and the rheological characteristic of the slurries was investigated. Consolidation was performed at an acceleration of 2,860 g for 60 rain. The effect of the characteristic of plant seeds on the drying behavior of Al2O3- ZrO2 green compact was analyzed. The effects of the solid contents of slurries on segregation phenomena ofAl2O3 and ZrO2 particles and green compact uniformity were investigated. The compressive stress-strain curve and deformation behavior of Al2O3-ZrO2 ceramic foams prepared using plant seed template were analyzed. The results showed segregation phenomenon is negligible for highly stable slurry with 50 vol.% solid loading. The prepared cell struts of Al2O3-ZrO2 foams have high green density (61.9% TD), sintered density (99.1% TD) and homogeneous microstructure. When sintered at 1,550 ℃ for 2 h, the cell size of Al2O3-ZrO2 foam is approximately uniform and the diameter is about 1.1 mm. The porosity and compressive strength of sintered products is 66.2% and 5.86 MPa, respectively. |
