Author(s)

Mayur Shukla^1,2, Sumana Ghosh^2*, Nandadulal Dandapat², Ashis K. Mandal², Vamsi K. Balla²

¹Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), CSIR-Central Glass and Ceramic Research Institute, Kolkata, India.
²CSIR-Central Glass and Ceramic Research Institute (CSIR-CGCRI), Kolkata, India.

The present investigation demonstrated the comparative studies carried out on conventional, microwave and vacuum sintering of alumina added yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ). The conventional, microwave and vacuum sintered specimens were characterized by density measurement, XRD, SEM with EDX analysis and hardness evaluation. Microwave sintering was proved to be the best efficient sintering technique with respect to energy and time savings. Enhanced densification was observed for the microwave and vacuum sintered specimens at lower temperatures compared to the conventionally sintered ones. Further, it was observed that the particle size had significant influence on the enhancement of densification. The microwave sintered specimen showed the highest hardness compared to conventional and vacuum sintered specimens.

Ceramics, Zirconia, Sintering, Density, Microstructure, Hardness

Shukla, M. , Ghosh, S. , Dandapat, N. , Mandal, A. and Balla, V. (2016) Comparative Study on Conventional Sintering with Microwave Sintering and Vacuum Sintering of Y₂O₃-Al₂O₃-ZrO₂ Ceramics. Journal of Materials Science and Chemical Engineering, 4, 71-78. doi: 10.4236/msce.2016.42008.