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Microstructures and mechanical properties of additively manufactured alumina ceramics with digital light processing

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Abstract

Digital light processing (DLP) technology has presented great potential to fabricate ceramic structures including alumina component, yet the mechanical properties of DLP-manufactured ceramics are still difficult to be guaranteed. The enhancement of mechanical properties of DLP-fabricated ceramic materials is challenging and imperative in the field of industrial application. This paper investigates the printing and heat treatment processes of additively manufactured ceramic to achieve defect-free Al2O3 ceramic with high performance. Firstly, Al2O3 ceramic slurry with a high solid content of 55 vol.% and viscosity of 6.04 Pa·s (at the shear rate of 100 s−1) is prepared. Then, Al2O3 ceramic is manufactured with digital light processing, debinding and sintering processes sequentially. Thirdly, the effects of sintering temperatures on the shrinkage, density, microstructure, and mechanical properties of the Al2O3 ceramics are analyzed. The shrinkage, density, and flexural strength of the sintered ceramic increase with temperature; the microhardness shows a non-monotonic trend with the increase of sintering temperature. Finally, the influence mechanism of sintering temperature on microstructures and mechanical properties of the DLP-fabricated ceramics is interpreted and discussed. The ceramic grains grow and combine to form long columnar grains during higher sintering temperatures. The density, microhardness and flexural strength of the Al2O3 ceramics sintered at 1600 °C are achieved 3.51 g/cm3, 17.71 GPa and 175.8 MPa, respectively.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2019YFB2005401) and the financial support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (91860207). This work was also supported by grants from Taishan Scholar Foundation and Shandong Provincial Key Research and Development Program (Major Scientific and Technological Innovation Project 2020CXGC010204). Shandong Provincial Science Foundation for Excellent Young Scholars (2022HWYQ-059), Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (2021JCG009).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Mechanical Engineering, Shandong University, Jingshi Road 17923, Jinan, 250061, China

    Mingze Xin, Zhanqiang Liu, Bing Wang & Qinghua Song

  2. Key National Demonstration Center for Experimental Mechanical Engineering Education/Key Laboratory of High Efficiency and Clean Mechanical Manufacture of MOE, Jinan, 250061, China

    Mingze Xin, Zhanqiang Liu, Bing Wang & Qinghua Song

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  1. Mingze Xin
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Correspondence to Zhanqiang Liu.

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Xin, M., Liu, Z., Wang, B. et al. Microstructures and mechanical properties of additively manufactured alumina ceramics with digital light processing. Archiv.Civ.Mech.Eng 23, 52 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s43452-022-00588-1

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