Pressureless sintering and characterization of cordierite/ZrO2composites

Cordierite/ZrO2 composites with 5 to 25 wt% ZrO2 were fabricated by conventional powder mixing and pressureless sintering method. Their densification behavior, microstructure, mechanical and thermal properties were studied. By dispersing 25 wt% (9.57 vol%) ZrO2, densified cordierite/ZrO2 composite with a relative density of 98.5% was obtained at an optimum sintering condition of 1440 °C and 2 h. ZrO2 particles were homogenously dispersed within matrix grains and at the grain boundaries. The intragranular particles were finer than 100 nm and the intergranular particles were coarser. Both fracture strength and toughness could be enhanced more than two times higher, compare to those of monolithic cordierite, by dispersing 25 wt% ZrO2 into the cordierite matrix. The toughening mechanism in the present composites was mainly attributed to martensitic transformation due to ZrO2 dispersion.