Performances and aging stability of new Al2O3-ZrO2-TiO2 ternary ceramic composites

Abstract The hydrothermal aging effect on the mechanical performance of binary and ternary ceramic composites fabricated through cheap and easy manufacturing process compared with conventional procedures was studied. Alumina, zirconia and titania oxides mixtures were pressed and sintered at low temperature in air to obtain the novel and promising ceramic composites. The relationships between the ceramic structure and several mechanical properties (hardness, tensile strength and elastic modulus) were discussed. The hydrothermal aging of zirconia based ceramics, as an estimation of 8 and 40 years in vivo, was investigated especially the transformation from tetragonal to monoclinic phase and its effect on mechanical properties. The results showed that the aging resistance of the ceramic composite is strictly related to the phase composition and distribution in binary and ternary ceramics systems. In particular, a hydrothermally induced boehmite AlOOH phase was observed in the 2.5%TiO2+23.75%Al2O3+73.75%ZrO2 sample. However, the content of monoclinic phase obtained after aging in all the tested samples is lower than the limit of International Organization of Standardization ISO 13356 indicating a high aging resistance.