Toughening alumina with both nickel and zirconia inclusions

In the present study, the interactions between a transformation toughening mechanism and a plastic deformation toughening mechanism are explored by investigating the toughening behaviour of Al2O3/(ZrO2+Ni) composites. Both the phase transformation of ZrO2 inclusions and the plastic deformation of Ni inclusions can enhance the toughness of Al2O3. However, the presence of Ni inclusions increases the amount of tetragonal-monoclinic transformation, the toughness enhancement of Al2O3/(ZrO2+Ni) composites is therefore higher than the sum of the toughness enhancement of Al2O3/ZrO2 and of Al2O3/Ni composites.