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.