The mechanical behavior of 3 mol% Y2O3-ZrO2 ceramic and 21 wt.% Al2O3-3 mol% Y2O3-ZrO2 ceramic composite with submicron grain size was studied. Mechanical properties, such as hardness, Young's modulus, four-point bending strength, and fracture toughness of both materials were measured. Linear stress-strain deformation behavior of both 3 mol% Y2O3-ZrO2 and 21 wt.% Al2O3-3 mol% Y2O3-ZrO2 was observed in flexure, both at room temperature and at 400 °C. A small deviation from linear elastic deformation was detected in 21 wt.% Al2O3-3 mol% Y2O3-ZrO2 ceramic composite when loaded above a stress of 1500 MPa. Therefore, it was concluded that only elastic deformation occurred at low stresses upon loading, which exclude the presence of domain switching in zirconia upon bending under the loading conditions of this study.
Keywords: ferroelasticity; fracture toughness; hysteresis; strength; zirconia.