Fabrication and characterization of NiO/YSZ composite via cold press- sintering method

Among various manufacturing processes, the use of cold press- sintering has been considered with low cost, high efficiency, and the ability to produce components with the appropriate dimensional accuracy. In this method, at least two components of the alcoholic solution are used in granulation and milling steps. Removing the solutions is accompanied with energy consumption, as well as, an increment in probability of crack initiation, which may limited the widespread utilization of press-sintering process. Therefore, in the present study, the soluble component in the milling step was removed. In following just using PVA as a soluble component in the granulation step, the ceramic / ceramic composite was made. Doing this, samples based on NiO and YSZ were made with different weight percentages of the reinforcement component (25, 30 and 35% wt. zirconia-stabilized yttrium), and then their microstructure, density and micro-hardness were investigated. Microstructural studies indicate that the amount and distribution of porosity, surface quality and depth of cracks in the samples are depended on reinforcement weight. In detailed, at the surface of green tables, no deep crack was observed. In sintered specimens, the best distribution of the gas phase was observed in NiO- 30% wt. YSZ, which results in maximum micro-hardness. Also, the radiography results provided by the above samples indicated that deep crack in the discs is not visible. Therefore, it seems that the starch as a pore former displayed the beset role via porosity distribution and lessening crack nucleation in sample having 30% reinforcement.