TO DEVELOP OPTIMIZED AL203 - ZR02 DISPERSION CMPOSITES FOR INDUSTRIAL APPLICATION AS A SUBSTITUTE FOR MORE EXPENSIVE CEMENTED CARBIDE TOOLS.

AL2O3 - ZRO2
THIS STUDY WILL INCLUDE:

- CHARACTERIZATION OF POWDERS FROM DIFFERENT ORIGINS,
- OPTIMIZATION OF SINTERING AND HOT PRESSING PROCESSES,
- MICROSTRUCTURE DETERMINATION (TEM, SEM),
- THERMO-MECHANICAL PROPERTY MEASUREMENTS AND THEIR CORRELATION WITH MICROSTRUCTURES.

VARIOUS POWDERS SUCH AS INDUSTRIALLY PRODUCED, PLASMA TORCH AND DOPED TYPES WILL BE INVESTIGATED BY SURFACE BET AND CHEMICAL ANALYSIS. SHAPE FACTORS AND PARTICLE SIZE DISTRIBUTIONS WILL ALSO BE STUDIED. MIXING, MILLING, DISPERSION AND SPRAY DRYING WILL BE LOOKED INTO AT THE POWDER FORMING PHASE, AND SLIP CASTING, ADDITIVES, ISOSTATIC SINTERING, HOT PRESSING, FIRING PRESSURES WILL BE INVESTIGATED DURING THE FORMING AND FIRING STAGES.
ANALYSIS OF THE HOT PRESSING KINETICS WILL BE COMPUTER MODELLED.

CHARACTERIZATION OF THE SINTERED MATERIALS WILL BE CARRIED OUT FOR PHYSICAL AND MECHANICAL PROPERTIES INCLDING THERMAL-SHOCK RESISTANCE AND FATIGUE USING THE NON-DESTRUCTIVE ACOUSTIC EMMISSION TECHNIQUE. RESEARCH WILL BE CARRIED OUT TO TRY TO UNDERSTAND THE MECHANISMS RESPONSIBLE FOR TOUGHENING OF THE MATERIAL.

THIS WILL BE AN INTERGRATED PROJECT BETWEEN INSA WHO WILL CONCENTRATE ON PHYSICAL AND MECHANICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF THE OPTIMIZED COMPOSITES AND CRIBIC, BELGIUM, (SUT-115-B) AND EMSE, FRANCE, (SUT-110-F) WHO WILL CARRY OUT THE POWDER PREPARATION AND MIXING STUDIES, TOGETHER WITH THE FORMING, SINTERING AND FIRING OF THE MATERIALS.