Zirconia-toughened alumina matrix composite

Zirconia toughened alumina matrix composite femoral (BIOLOX Delta, CeramTec). Image provided courtesy of... 

Figure 13. Scanning Electron Microscopy image (Back scattered electrons mode) of a zirconia toughened alumina nano composite, showing the narrow distribution of well dispersed zirconia particles in an alumina matrix [39],...

As mentioned previously, the main body of research on whisker-reinforced composites was concerned with alumina, mullite, and silicon nitride matrix materials. None the less, selected work examined zirconia, cordierite, and spinel as matrix materials.16-18 The high temperature strength behavior reported for these composites is summarized in Table 2.5. As shown, the zirconia matrix composites exhibited decreases in room temperature strength with the addition of SiC whiskers. However, the retained strength at 1000°C, was significantly improved for the whisker composites over the monolithic. Claussen and co-workers attributed this behavior to loss of transformation toughening at elevated temperatures for the zirconia monolith, whereas the whisker-reinforcement contribution did not decrease at the higher temperature.17,18... 

Zirconia-toughened ceramics (ZTCs). These are ceramic matrix composites. The matrix is alumina, mullite, or spinel. The reinforcements are tetragonal or monoclinic zirconia particles. 

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