Unprecedented simultaneous enhancement in damage tolerance and fatigue resistance of zirconia/Ta composites.
Dense (>98 th%) and homogeneous ceramic/metal composites were obtained by spark plasma sintering (SPS) using ZrO2and lamellar metallic powders of tantalum or niobium (20 vol.%) as starting materials. The present study has demonstrated the unique and unpredicted simultaneous enhancement in toughness and strength with very high flaw tolerance of zirconia/Ta composites. In addition to their excellent static mechanical properties, these composites also have exceptional resistance to fatigue loading. It has been shown that the major contributions to toughening are the resulting crack bridging and plastic deformation of the metallic particles, together with crack deflection and interfacial debonding, which is compatible with the coexistence in the composite of both, strong and weak ceramic/metal interfaces, in agreement with predictions of ab-initio calculations. Therefore, these materials are promising candidates for designing damage tolerance components for aerospace industry, cutting and drilling tools, biomedical implants, among many others.
Instituto de Ciencia de Materiales de Madrid (ICMM), Consejo Superior deInvestigaciones Científicas (CSIC), C/Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz 3, 28049 Madrid, Spain.|Moscow State University of Technology "STANKIN", Vadkovskij per. 1, Moscow, 101472, Russian Federation.
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Smirnov
Instituto de Ciencia de Materiales de Madrid (ICMM), Consejo Superior deInvestigaciones Científicas (CSIC), C/Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz 3, 28049 Madrid, Spain.
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Beltrán
Element Six UK Ltd, Global Innovation Centre, Fermi Avenue, Harwell Oxford, Didcot, OX11 0QR, UK.
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Rodriguez-Suarez
Instituto de Ciencia de Materiales de Madrid (ICMM), Consejo Superior deInvestigaciones Científicas (CSIC), C/Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz 3, 28049 Madrid, Spain.
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Pecharromán
Instituto de Ciencia de Materiales de Madrid (ICMM), Consejo Superior deInvestigaciones Científicas (CSIC), C/Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz 3, 28049 Madrid, Spain.
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Muñoz
Instituto de Ciencia de Materiales de Madrid (ICMM), Consejo Superior deInvestigaciones Científicas (CSIC), C/Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz 3, 28049 Madrid, Spain.|Nanomaterials and Nanotechnology Research Center (CINN), CSIC-University of Oviedo (UO), Avda de la Vega 4-6, El Entrego, 33940 San-Martín del Rey Aurelio, Spain.
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Moya
Instituto de Ciencia de Materiales de Madrid (ICMM), Consejo Superior deInvestigaciones Científicas (CSIC), C/Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz 3, 28049 Madrid, Spain.
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Bartolomé