Zirconia Ceramic

• High density – up to 6.1 g/cm^3
• High flexural strength and hardness
• Excellent fracture toughness – impact resistant
• High maximum use temperature
• Wear resistant
• Good frictional behavior
• Electrical insulator
• Low thermal conductivity – aprox. 10% of Alumina
• Corrosion resistance in acids and alkalis
• Modulus of elasticity similar to steel
• Coefficient of thermal expansion similar to iron

• Wire forming/drawing dies
• Insulating rings in thermal processes
• Precision shafts and axles in high wear environments
• Furnace process tubes
• Wear resistance pads
• Thermocouple protection tubes
• Sandblasting nozzles
• Refractory material
• Extrusion dies
• Bushings and caps
• Kiln furniture crucible
• Fiber optic ferrules and sleeves
• Knives and blades
• Fuel cell parts
• Bearings & rollers
• Welding nozzles & pins
• Laser parts
• Gas igniters
• Electric insulator
• Ceramic guiders
• Oxygen sensors
• Medical and surgical component
• Mechanical seals
• Pumps, pistons, and liners

While Y-PSZ is excellent for demanding mechanical applications, it may not be suitable for very high temperature applications because it suffers from grain boundary sliding; this occurs when prolonged exposure to heat causes the material to transform form the strong tetragonal phase to the weaker monoclinic phase. Similarly, it may not be suitable for warm and moist conditions since its properties deteriorate when it is exposed to water vapor. YSZ is therefore best suited when it is operating in dry and moderate temperature conditions. For more information on hydrothermal aging of Zirconia please contact us.

M-PSZ has better temperature and moisture resistant properties because it does not suffer from phase migration. M-PSZ maintains its strength even in moist high temperature environments where YSZ mechanical properties begin to deteriorate.

Zirconia can be machined in green, biscuit, or fully dense states. While in the green or biscuit form it can be machined relatively easily into complex geometries. However, the sintering process that is required to fully densify the material causes the Zirconia body to shrink approximately 20%. This shrinkage means that it is impossible to hold very tight tolerances when machining Zirconia pre-sintering.

In order to achieve very tight tolerances, fully sintered material must be machined/ground with diamond tools. In this process a very precise diamond coated tool/wheel is used to abrade away the material until the desired form is created. Due to the inherit toughness and hardness of the material, this can be a time consuming and costly process.