The fibres reinforced thin architectural ceramic plates of 900?1800?2.5mm
with excellent mechanical properties were prepared by fast-sintering method
using a controllable fibre dispersion process. The effects of ball-milling
time on dispersity, average length-to-diameter ratio and microstructure of
alumina fibres were investigated. Meanwhile, the effects of alumina fibre
contents on the bulk density, water absorption, phase transformation and
microstructure of the thin ceramic plate were researched. It was found that
the two-step ball-milling process can effectively control the average
length-to-diameter ratio of alumina fibres, achieving a good dispersion
mixture of fibres and ceramic powders. Ceramics bulk density and bending
strength increase with fibre contents rise from 0 to 5 wt.% and then
decrease with further fibre content addition from 5 to 15wt.%. The in situ
formed mullite whiskers via fast-sintering method are beneficial for
protecting fibres and fibre/matrix interfaces. The maximum value of bending
strength and fracture toughness reach 147MPa for 5 wt.% fibre contents and
2.6MPa?m1/2 for 9 wt.%fibre contents, corresponding to the strengthening of
alumina fibres and the formation of mullite whiskers in fibre/matrix
interfaces and matrix via fast-sintering process.
Ceramic materials with high strength, toughness, and excellent impact resistance are urgently required for many structural applications, but these mechanical properties are difficult to achieve in traditional ceramic tiles due to their inherent brittleness. Inspired by the specific structure of shells, the multilayered ceramic tile/Kevlar fabric composite with a bio‐inspired shell structure was successfully fabricated via a surface hydroxylation followed by simple hot press process. It is found that the composites have representative step‐like fracture behaviors rather than brittle fracture, which has been proven to possess a better ability of mechanical performance and noncatastrophic failure behavior compared to same‐thickness ceramic tile. Specifically, the bending strength, fracture toughness, and fracture work of the composite with a 15‐tier structure come to 836.5 ± 12.5 MPa, 14.6 ± .2 MPa·m1/2, and 7228.8 ± 108.4 J·m1/2, which are even better than those of reported advanced materials. Such fracture‐resistant behaviors are correspondent to the strengthening effects of the crack deflection, interfacial debonding, and fiber pull out, accompanied by bio‐inspired structure and appropriate bonding state between brittle or ductile layers. This resin or fabric content can be used as well as the slip systems to transfer the internal stress in time to consume more fracture energy per unit length and prevent risky brittle fracture, while carrying loads. We expect these findings to provide vital guidance for promoting the applications of traditional ceramics in bio‐inspired high‐performance composites for actual ceramic manufacturers.
Owing to the high expenses and numerous potential avenues for formula research in ceramic production, obtaining cost-effective and high-quality ceramic formulas for high-performance ceramics poses significant challenges. To address this issue, a flux formula optimization procedure is proposed to develop the predictive ceramic formula P18, which allows precise control of the Al/Si ratio and is compatible with standard manufacturing processes. This cost-effective method enables the visual examination of ceramics’ physical, mechanical and thermodynamic properties. It is found that sintering temperature plays a crucial role in phase and microstructure evolution by classical phenomenological kinetic theory. Moreover, the sintered sample P18 exhibits remarkable mechanical performance, with a strength of 96.82 ± 2.0 MPa and fracture toughness of 1.89 ± 0.02 MPa·m1/2. These outstanding properties can be attributed to the reinforcing effects of multiple phases, such as high-strength corundum and in situ mullite whiskers. The mechanical mechanisms of the resulting ceramic tiles include particle reinforcement, microcrack deflection, intergranular and transgranular fracture, and in situ mullite whisker bridge pull-out, which collectively contribute to increase energy consumption per unit length, thus reducing the risk of brittle fractures.
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