Mechanical properties of ultra-fine grained zirconia ceramics

The mechanical properties of tetragonal zirconia (TZP) materials doped with Y, Ce or Ti were studied as a function of temperature and grain size. Fine grained Y-TZP (grain size < 0.3 m) shows values for fracture toughness and strength at room temperature, which are comparable with the coarse grained transformation toughened materials, despite lacking transformation toughening. The morphology of the fracture surface points to crack deflection as the most important toughening mechanism. At 800 °C fracture toughness and strength are higher than in coarse grained Y-TZP materials. Doping Y-TZP with Ce or Ti results in a similar trend in mechanical properties, for fine grained material, as for the Y-TZP materials.