Zirconia Ceramaic – (ZrO2)
Referred to as ‘ceramic steel,’ Zirconia (ZrO2) ceramic combines high hardness, resistance to wear and corrosion, while demonstrating superior fracture toughness compared to other ceramics.
Multiple Zirconia grades exist, including Yttria Partially Stabilized Zirconia (Y-PSZ) and Magnesia Partially Stabilized Zirconia (Mg-PSZ), both offering impressive properties. The appropriate grade depends on the application’s conditions and design. Zirconia’s substantial thermal expansion and unique crack resistance make it ideal for bonding with metals like steel in various environments.
Zirconia Ceramaic – (ZrO2)
Referred to as ‘ceramic steel,’ Zirconia (ZrO2) ceramic combines high hardness, resistance to wear and corrosion, while demonstrating superior fracture toughness compared to other ceramics.
Multiple Zirconia grades exist, including Yttria Partially Stabilized Zirconia (Y-PSZ) and Magnesia Partially Stabilized Zirconia (Mg-PSZ), both offering impressive properties. The appropriate grade depends on the application’s conditions and design. Zirconia’s substantial thermal expansion and unique crack resistance make it ideal for bonding with metals like steel in various environments.
Material Advantages
- Use temperatures up to 1000°C
- Low thermal conductivity
- Chemical inertness
- Resistance to molten metals
- Wear resistance
- High fracture toughness
- High hardness
Applications
High pressure equipment ball valve balls and seats
High density ball grinding media
Rollers and guides for metal forming
Thread and wire guides
Metal extrusion dies
Deep well down-hole valves and seats
Powder compacting dies
Pump seals and shaft bearings
Oxygen sensors
High temperature induction furnace susceptors
Fuel cell membranes
Zirconia Machining
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, the fully sintered material must be machined/ground with diamond tools. In this manufacturing process, a very precise diamond coated tool/wheel is used to abrade away the material until the desired form is created. Due to the inherent toughness and hardness of the material, this can be a time consuming and costly process.
Advanced ceramic components produced include:
- Ceramic Valve components
- Ceramic Pump liners
- Ceramic Roller
- Ceramic Plugs
- Ceramic Sleeves
- Zirconia Ceramic Pistons
- Ceramic Nozzle
- Ceramic balls
- Ceramic Spools
- Ceramic Shaft
- Ceramic Press tooling
- Zirconia Ceramic Beads
- Other Zirconia Ceramics