Determination of fracture toughness of zirconia-based ceramics produced by the spark plasma sintering method
摘要
Fracture toughness of ZrO2–3 mol.% Y2O3 ceramics produced by the spark plasma sintering (SPS) at temperatures of 1150 to 1350 °C was studied. Fracture toughness of the ceramics was determined by the Vickers indentation method, Young’s modulus, microhardness, and linear crack dimensions. A comparative analysis of the calculated fracture toughness values with those obtained by the method of three-point bending of a single-edge notch beam (the SENB method) was carried out. Sintering at 1200 °C provided the highest fracture toughness KIC of the ceramics. Because of the differences in the microstructure of ceramics produced by SPS and conventional sintering methods, it is recommended to use conventional methods of fracture mechanics along with the indentation method to determine the fracture toughness of ceramics correctly.