Fabrication and mechanical properties of lightweight ZrO2 ceramic corrugated core sandwich panels

• ZrO2 ceramic corrugated core sandwich panels were prepared.
• Lightweight was obtained.
• High specific strength was achieved.

ZrO2 ceramic corrugated core sandwich panels were fabricated using gelcasting technique and pressureless sintering. The nominal density of the as-prepared ZrO2 ceramic corrugated panel was only 2.4 g/cm3 (42.9% of bulk ceramic). Lightweight was realized through this sandwich structured design. The three-point bending strength was measured to be 298.4 MPa. And the specific bending strength was as high as 124.3 (114% higher than bulk ceramic). The compressive strength was 20.2 MPa. High strength was also realized through this sandwich structured design. The stress distribution during three-point bending and compression testing was finally simulated using finite element analysis (FEA) method.