Processing and mechanical properties of hydroxyapatite pieces obtained by the gelcasting method

The mechanical properties of the green bodies were higher than obtained by other methods and the ones of the final pieces were comparable to those obtained by other techniques. The results indicated that slurries with a solid content higher than a limit value (for which limited contraction occurs) must be used and that the rheological properties of the slurries play an important role in the mechanical properties of the resulting pieces.