Keramisches Material auf der Basis von Zirkoniumoxid und Verfahren zu seiner Herstellung

摘要

A zirconia based ceramic material having improved and well-balanced mechanical strength and toughness consists essentially of 0.5 to 50 vol% of Al 2 O 3 having an average grain size of 2 m or less and the balance of a partially stabilized zirconia having an average grain size of 5 m or less. The partially stabilized zirconia consists essentially of 8 to 12 mol% of CeO 2 , 0.05 to 4 mol% of TiO 2 and the balance of ZrO 2 . Fine Al 2 O 3 grains having an average grain size of 1 m or less are dispersed within the grains of the partially stabilized zirconia at a dispersion ratio. The dispersion ratio is defined as a ratio of the number of Al 2 O 3 grains dispersed within the grains of the partially stabilized zirconia relative to the number of the entire Al 2 O 3 grains dispersed in the ceramic material, and is at least 2% in the present invention. The ceramic material can be made by the following process. A first constituent formed of the partially stabilized zirconia is mixed with a second constituent formed of Al 2 O 3 to obtain a mixture. The mixture is molded into a desired shape, and then sintered in the air under an atmospheric pressure to obtain the ceramic material.