Microstructural Development during the Microwave Sintering of Yttria—Zirconia Ceramics |
| |
| Authors: | Sharon A. Nightingale H. K. Worner D. P. Dunne |
| |
| Affiliation: | Department of Materials Engineering, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, N.S.W. 2522, Australia;Microwave Applications Research Centre, Illawarra Technology Corporation, Wollongong, N.S.W. 2522, Australia |
| |
| Abstract: | The microstructural development of 3 and 8 mol% yttria—zirconia ceramics during microwave sintering was studied and compared to conventionally heated samples. Microwave heating enhanced the densification processes occurring during constant-rate heating for both materials. No change was found in the grain size—density relationship for the 8 mol% yttria—zirconia. However, a small, but statistically significant shift favoring densification was found for the 3 mol% yttriazirconia. Differences in the responses of the two materials are not completely understood but may be due to the differences in the activation energy for grain growth and grain-boundary mobility. |
| |
| Keywords: | |
|
|
