Effect of rare earth oxide and rare earth-alumina-silica glass on mechanical properties of liquid phase sintered alumina ceramics

The microstructure evolution and mechanical properties of alumina doped with rare earth oxide and rare earth-aluminosilicate glass has been investigated in order to understand better the impact of rare earth addition on hardness and fracture toughness. The aims of the present work are to examine the possibly beneficial effects of selected rare earth oxide added to alumina by two different routes in enhancing mechanical properties. The specific systems considered in this work were as follows: liquid phase sintered alumina containing RE2O3 (RE = La, Y) and RE2O3 - Al2O3 - SiO2 glassy phase up to 5 wt. %. The Vickers hardness and fracture toughness have been compared with the undoped alumina.