Synthesis of Zirconia-Nickel Cermets by a Powder Metallurgical Technique

A powder processing technique is developed for the synthesis of zirconia-nickel cermets, which have similar microstructures as those prepared by plasma spraying using the same starting powders, in order to measure their thermophysical properties. The processing parameters are determined: pressing at 764 MPa and sintering at 1270°C for 50 minutes. The results show that yield strength and relative scratch hardness increase with increasing ceramic content and decrease after attaining their maximum values with further increasing ceramic content.