Mechanical properties of zirconia toughened alumina with 10–24 vol.% 1Y-TZP reinforcement

Zirconia-toughened alumina ceramics (ZTA) with an yttria content of 1 mol% and zirconia contents ranging from 10 to 24 vol% were hot-pressed at 1475 C at 50 MPa axial pressure for different dwell times of 1-3 h. Stabilisation of the reinforcement phase in ZTA with yttria was performed by a nitrate coating process of monoclinic zirconia nanopowders and subsequent blending with sub-micron size alumina. The microstructure and mechanical properties were investigated. A high ISB toughness of 8.5 MPa.m1/2, in combination with a 3-point bending strength of 1198 MPa, was determined for the 1 mol% yttria 17 vol% ZTA overmatching previous studies of coated ZTA ceramics. The interaction between stabiliser and reinforcement phase had a strong influence on the mechanical properties.