| Field Assisted Sintering of Nanostructured Zirconia-
Alumina Ceramics for Demanding Applications |
John A. Downs*, Annapoorani Ketharam and Bala Vaidhyanathan
Department of Materials, Loughborough University, Loughborough, United Kingdom
pages : 92-97
DOI : 10.1080/0371750X.2016.1172981 |
| Abstract |
| Flash and field assisted sintering techniques (FAST) have been demonstrated in many
singular ceramic systems. However, little has been done to thoroughly investigate
this phenomenon in binary systems. Zirconia-alumina composites are of interest
because of their widespread use in demanding situations for health care, petrochemical
and energy applications. The prospect of minimizing grain growth associated with
FAST whilst achieving maximum densification is vital for the above applications to
improve performance. Flash sintering behaviour of several zirconia-alumina
formulations was investigated under a range of DC electric fields up to 700 V.cm–1. At
low alumina contents (<10 wt%) the flash behaviour was controlled by the zirconia
phase; intermediate compositions (10-70 wt%) show a composite effect; and at high
alumina contents (>75 wt%) the effectiveness of field assisted sintering drops off.
These pointers allowed to gain further insight into the mechanisms of flash sintering
and will help to develop pathways for the adaptation of the technique to process
complex ceramic systems.
[Keywords: Flash sintering, FAST, Zirconia-toughened alumina, Zirconia, Bioceramics] |
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