Low-temperature degradation resistance and plastic deformation of ATZ ceramics stabilized by CaO
Abstract In this work, the phase composition (relative fractions of monoclinic m-ZrO2, tetragonal t-ZrO2, and cubic c-ZrO2 phases) and mechanical properties (hardness, fracture toughness, compressive strength) of alumina toughened zirconia (ATZ) ceramics, with an addition of silica were investigated. Calcium oxide was used as a stabilizer for the zirconia tetragonal phase. It was shown that CaO-ATZ+SiO2 ceramics demonstrate increased resistance to low-temperature degradation. The plasticity signs at room temperature were found due to the SiO2 addition to CaO-ATZ ceramics. A yield plateau appears in the uniaxial compression diagram at 5 mol. % SiO2 concentration. It is hypothesized that discovered plasticity is due to the increased t→m transformability.