Microstructure and mechanical properties of 3Y-TZP/Al2O3 composites fabricated by liquid phase sintering

3Y-TZP/Al2O3 composites were pressureless sintered with the addition of TiO2-MnO2 and CaO-Al2O3-SiO2 glass. The densification, microstructure and mechanical properties of the composites were investigated. It was found that the composites could be densified at a temperature as low as 1400◦C by liquid phase sintering. The majority of the grain sizes for both Al2O3 and ZrO2 were below 1 μm because of the lower sintering temperature. A bending strength of 934±28 MPa and fracture toughness of 7.82±0.19 MPam1/2 were obtained for 3Y-TZP/Al2O3 (20 vol%) composite. Transformation toughening is considered the responsible toughening mechanism. C 2005 Springer Science + Business Media, Inc.