Sintering behavior and mechanical properties of alumina/zirconia multilayers composite via nano-powder processing

The present research has been focused on the development of functionally graded alumina–zirconia composites, which particularly have high mechanical and thermal properties. In this study, different components of alumina–zirconia layers were enhanced between two layers of pure alumina and alumina with 20 mol% zirconia. The effect of this enhancement on consolidation, sintering condition, hardness and toughness values of the multilayer samples was evaluated. The results showed that the cracks were distributed in the co-sintering multi-layered structure. The cracks were formed due to the residual stress caused by differences in thermal expansion and sintering between successive layers. The final shape and mechanical properties of the gradual samples were found to be improved.