Influence of glass phase on Al2O3 fiber-reinforced Al2O3 composites processed by slip casting

The present work describes the processing of alumina fiber reinforced alumina ceramic preforms consisting of chopped Al2O3 fibers (33 wt%) and Al2O3 (67 wt%) fine powders by slip casting. The preforms were pre-sintered in air at 1100 °C for 1 h. A lanthanum based glass was infiltrated into these preforms at 1250 °C for 90 min. Linear shrinkage (%) was studied before and after glass infiltration. Pre-sintered and infiltrated specimens were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray, X-ray diffraction, porosimetry and flexural strength. The alumina preforms showed a narrow pore size distribution with an average pore size of 50 nm. It was observed that introducing Al2O3 fibers into Al2O3 particulate matrix produced warp free preforms with minor shrinkage during pre-sintering and glass infiltration. It was observed that the infiltration process fills up the pores and considerably improves the strength and reliability of alumina preform.