Abstract
A plain woven Al2O3 fibre - ZrO2 minicomposite reinforced Al2O3 matrix composite ((Al2O3)f/ZrO2)mc/Al2O3) has been fabricated by a simple, pressureless, multiple slurry infiltration - sintering process. The fabrication process consisted of two major steps: fabrication of the woven Al2O3 fibre - ZrO2 minicomposite ((Al2O3)f/ZrO2)mc) and fabrication of the composite ((Al2O3)f/ZrO2)mc/Al2O3. The woven fibre form of ((Al2O3)f/ZrO2) mc was made by dipping a plain woven Al2O3 fabric into colloidal ZrO2 solution. Then Al2O3 powder dispersed slurry was infiltrated into the open spaces of the woven fabric ((Al2O3) /ZrO2)mc. The infiltrated minicomposites were stacked, pressed, and sintered in ambient air to form a plate of ((Al2O3)f/ZrO2)mc/Al2O3. The optimum sintering temperature of ((Al2O3)f/ZrO2)mc/Al2O3 was investigated via tensile strength and matrix density. Tensile behaviour and fracture resistance of the composite fabricated under the optimum processing condition were evaluated. The tensile stress - strain behaviour of the optimised composite showed non-catastrophic fracture behaviour with bundle bridging and extensive fibre bundle pullouts. The maximum tensile stress revealed that almost full strength expected from the bare bundle strength was exploited by the proposed process.
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