Effect of high thermal expansion glass infiltration on mechanical properties of alumina-zirconia composite

This work studies the effect on the mechanical properties of alumina-10 wt% zirconia (3 mol% yttria stabilized) composite by infiltrating glass of a higher thermal expansion (soda lime glass) on the surface at high temperature. The glass improved the strength of composite at room temperature as well as at high temperature. This could be attributed to the drastic drop in the coefficient of thermal expansion due to the compositional change in the soda lime glass during infiltration. There was a significant improvement in the Weibull modulus after glass infiltration. Glass infiltrated samples showed better thermal shock resistance. The magnitude of strength increment was found to be in the order of the surface residual stress generated by thermo-elastic properties mismatch between the composite and the penetrated glass.