POROSITY AND DENSITY OF ALUMINUM-OXIDE

The effect of hydrothermal modifying (HTM) of the active aluminum oxide porous structure was studied. Mechanically molded samples of the Al and SNSh aluminum oxide brands and the wet-molded ShN brand were tested for fracture strength. It was found that the fracture strength of the Al samples decreased and their pore size increased when exposed to the HTM at 200-300 degrees C. The fracture strength of the SNSh samples was very sensitive to the HTM temperature: It increased up to 200 degrees C, then sharply decreased above this temperature with a simultaneous increase of the pore size. Toughness of the ShN samples was independent of the changes in the pore structure upon HTM.