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DoITPoMS Micrograph Library Full Record for Micrograph 196

Full Record for Micrograph 196

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Micrograph no
196
Brief description
Tetragonal Zirconia Polycrystals (TZP)
Keywords
ceramic Link to MATTER Glossary entry for ceramic, engineering ceramic, tough ceramic, toughness Link to MATTER Glossary entry for toughness, zirconia
Categories
Ceramic
System
ZrO2-Y2O3
Composition
Y2O3 2-3, ZrO2 96-97 (wt%)
Standard codes
Reaction
Processing
Pressed powder mixtures sintered at 1400-1550ºC.
Applications
Where toughness, wear-resistance and refractoriness are needed e.g. extrusion dies, machinery wear parts and piston caps.
Sample preparation
Grind, polish, ion thin and carbon coat.
Technique
Bright-field TEM
Length bar
600 nm
Further information
The comparatively low sintering temperature allows very fine grained (sub-micron), dense and so high strength as well as tough ceramics to be produced. The microstructure shows equiaxed, fine grains with little evidence of weakening grain boundary phases. Such microstructures have some of the highest values of toughness achieved in ceramics.
Contributor
Prof W E Lee
Organisation
Department of Engineering Materials, University of Sheffield
Date
02/09/02
Licence for re-use
Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International