Mullite–zirconia–zircon composites: Properties and thermal shock resistance

Abstract In the refractory field mullite and zirconia are the basis of materials used in the glass industry or when high chemical stability and corrosion resistance are necessary. In this work various mullite–zirconia/zircon compositions were investigated to improve the thermal shock (TS) resistance of dense composites produced by slip casting and sintering at 1600 °C. Zircon (SiZrO4) acts as bonding phase and its thermal decomposition adds zirconia and silica to the material. Resultant composites were characterized by density and dilatometric measurements, XRD and SEM techniques. TS behavior was tested by quenching in water with quenching temperature differentials ΔT from 400 to 1200 °C. The degree of damage after the TS was experimentally evaluated through the variation of the elastic modulus E which is measured by the excitation technique. The severity of the TS test and the effect of the number of thermal cycles on E for each ΔT employed were determined. The tested materials retained their original mechanical properties for temperatures below a critical temperature ΔTc near 600 °C. Materials quenched from ΔT of 1000 °C showed as much as 30% reduction in E indicating the important microstructure damage. The TS resistance improved with increasing zircon addition to 35 wt% in agreement with the behavior predicted from R parameter for crack initiation.