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Mechanical Properties of Interpenetrating Microstructures: The Al 2 O 3 /c‐ZrO 2 System
Author(s) -
French Jonathan D.,
Chan Helcn M.,
Harmer Martin P.,
Miller Gary A.
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
journal of the american ceramic society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.9
H-Index - 196
eISSN - 1551-2916
pISSN - 0002-7820
DOI - 10.1111/j.1151-2916.1992.tb08196.x
Subject(s) - materials science , microstructure , composite material , fracture toughness , flexural strength , indentation hardness , indentation , vickers hardness test , transgranular fracture , composite number , elastic modulus , morphology (biology) , sintering , intergranular fracture , intergranular corrosion , biology , genetics
Composites of Al 2 O 3 (A) and cubic ZrO 2 (Z) (8 mol% Y 2 O 3 ) (with c ‐ZrO 2 volume fractions ranging from O to 1) were fabricated by pressureless sintering of mechanically mixed powders. The microstructures of the AZ composites were duplex, with the grains of both phases exhibiting similar size. Room‐temperature mechanical properties including Young's modulus (determined from elastic wave velocity measurements), strength and toughness (by indentation‐strength‐in‐bending), and Vickers microhardness were evaluated for the full range of compositions. All properties exhibited a linear decrease with increasing c ‐ZrO 2 content, and no R ‐curve behavior was seen in any of the composite compositions. Fracture morphology, observed from cracks emanating from microhardness indentations, changed from essentially intergranular for the tougher Al 2 O 3 to transgranular for c ‐ZrO 2 , with AZ composites exhibiting mixed morphology.