Systematic investigation about the influence of two-step sintering on microstructure properties of ZTA ceramics

Various adaptations by conventional sintering of ceramics are a proven means of controlling the microstructure and properties of ceramics. A technically easy to implement variant is the two-step sintering, which was investigated in this study for ZTA ceramics in comparison to hipped samples. To this end, at first a large number of pressed green bodies has been produced and examined systematically under different sintering conditions. It was detected that two-step sintering is suitable to produce dense ZTA ceramics and that they in comparison with hipped samples show a similar high hydrothermal aging resistance after 200 h, as well as similar grain sizes. That opens up the possibility of using this manufacturing process for biomaterials.