Fabrication and abrasive wear behavior of ZrO2-SiC-Al2O3 ceramic

Abstract In this paper, ZrO 2 -SiC-Al 2 O 3 ceramic was fabricated by as-prepared ZrO 2 -SiC powders and commercial α-Al 2 O 3 powders, sintered at 1450 °C for 1 h. ZrO 2 -SiC composite powders were synthesized through carbothermal reduction with zircon as raw material and carbon black as the reductant. Through ZrO 2 -SiC-Al 2 O 3 ceramic mechanical properties measurements it was indicated that this ceramic had excellent properties in both bending strength and hardness. In addition, ZrO 2 -SiC-Al 2 O 3 ceramic abrasive wear property was measured. ZrO 2 -SiC-Al 2 O 3 ceramic mass loss increased along with the increase in both wheel rate and applied load. The type of wear particles had an important effect on abrasive wear resistance. ZrO 2 -SiC-Al 2 O 3 ceramic displayed excellent abrasive wear resistance in bentonite and quartz slurries in comparison with SiC slurry.