Effect of 24 GHz microwave heating on creep deformation of yttria partially stabilised zirconia ceramics with titania and tin oxide additives

The effect of quasi-millimetre-wave (24 GHz microwave) heating on creep deformation was investigated on partially-stabilised zirconia through tensile testing at temperatures from 1100 to 1350 °C over stresses from 3 to 10 MPa. The specimens were fabricated by sintering the 3 mol% of yttria stabilised ZrO2 (3YSZ) powder dispersed with SiO2, SiO2/SnO2 or SiO2/TiO2 at 1600 °C. In tensile test using the quasi-millimetre wave heating, strain rates of SiO2 dispersed 3YSZ were similar to that with a conventional furnace heating. The 3YSZ sample containing the TiO2 addition exhibited a different strain rate when heated by millimeter-wave irradiation as against conventional furnace heating, it is proposed that this difference can be explained due to TiO2 having a high-dielectric constant resulting in a non-thermal effect when subjected to quasi-millimeter wavelength radiation.