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This paper presents the micro-shot peening of zirconia (ZrO)-advanced ceramics applicable for bio-medical, dental, automotive and aerospace sectors. A ZrO-advanced ceramic was micro-shot blasted with selected parameters as a first-step investigation focused on the topography, microstructure, surface hardness and the surface fracture toughness ( K) characteristics. A new technique of micro-blasting was conducted using a portable shot blaster. A white-light interferometer, scanning electron microscopy and Vickers indentation technique were employed for the analysis. This was followed by determining the K using an empirical equation. Surface roughness was improved by 34 % after micro-shot blasting treatment. No surface cracking was present which generally exists due to the brittle nature of the ceramic. The hardness, however, reduced by 5.6 % with a reduction in the Vickers crack length of 9 %. This improved the K by 3 % when comparing the micro-shot peened surface to the original, as-received surface. It is difficult to conclude if the ZrO-advanced ceramic has undergone plastic deformation and the movement of dislocations increased to strengthen the ZrO ceramic at this stage. However, based on the results, it can be predicted that a level of surface compression was induced beneath the micro-shot peened layer as indicated from the result of the surface topography and integrity. This would justify the hardness modification and the enhancement in K. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dense nanocrystalline ZrO2-3 wt% Y2O3 ceramics with grain sizes ranging between 23 to 130 nm were tested by ultrasonic pulse echo and Vickers hardness. The elastic modulus and hardness results were corrected for the residual porosity and the phase content. The corrected elastic moduli exhibited continuous decrease with decrease in the grain size. In contrast no correlation was found between the corrected hardness and grain size. The percolative composite model was used to describe the changes in the elastic moduli in terms of percolation of the elastic wave through the intercrystalline phase at the percolation threshold. The absence of correlation with the hardness results was explained due to the other energy absorbing mechanisms such as microcracking beneath the indenter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]