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Damage tolerance and R-curve behavior of Al2O3–ZrO2–Nb multiphase composites with synergistic toughening mechanism

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Abstract

In the present work, the damage tolerance and R-curve behavior of alumina–zirconia–niobium multiphase composites were studied by the indentation strength method. A matrix of yttria-stabilized zirconia (3Y–TZP) strengthened with particles of Al2O3 (ATZ) and an alumina matrix strengthened with particles of 3Y-TZP (ZTA) were prepared by hot press of commercial powders, containing Nb metal particles as reinforcing phase. The crack growth behavior was analyzed, and it was found that stress-induced transformation toughening of ZrO2 and bridging of the Nb inclusions were the two main factors that can shield an advancing crack and exert crack closure stresses on the crack wake. Moreover, on the basis of quantitative toughening analysis, it is argued that a synergistic effect originated from the interaction between the toughening mechanisms of Nb grains and zirconia, takes place in the alumina–zirconia–Nb multiphase composites. This showed that the combined toughening effect was bigger than the sum of the individual toughening effects when either reinforcement acted alone.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by European Union (EU) under project reference FP6-515784-2, by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Technology under project number MAT2006-10249-C02-01 and by the “Dirección General de Universidades e Investigación de la Consejería de Educación y Ciencia de la Comunidad de Madrid” and CSIC under project reference 200660M042. J.F. Bartolome has been supported by Ministry of Science and Technology and CSIC under the “Ramón y Cajal” Program cofinanced by European Social Fund. The authors are also grateful to Prof. J.S. Moya and Dr. C. Pecharromán for useful discussions and to Prof. A.P. Tomsia and Dr. E. Saiz for the machining samples.

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  1. Instituto de Ciencia de Materiales de Madrid, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), 28049, Madrid, Spain

    C.F. Gutiérrez-González & J.F. Bartolomé

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Gutiérrez-González, C., Bartolomé, J. Damage tolerance and R-curve behavior of Al2O3–ZrO2–Nb multiphase composites with synergistic toughening mechanism. Journal of Materials Research 23, 570–578 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1557/JMR.2008.0075

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