Microstructure and Thermal Conductivity of Porous Al2O3-ZrO2 Ceramics

The improvement on the development of porous ceramic materials has leaded to new technologies in thermal insulation, for example, composite materials for better performance of pressure vessels in rocket engines. Within this context, the present work aims to evaluate the ability of a refractory ceramic base alumina/zirconia through the processes of co-precipitation and replica method in an organic fiber template. The green body was burnt-out and sintered at 1200-1600°C to obtain the continuous porous ceramic fibers. In the FEG-SEM analysis, an interconnected porous structure with small grains was observed. The crystalline phases were determined by X-ray diffraction and compared to micro-Raman results regarding the crystalline structure confirms that there present in the material zirconia is composed of more than one phase. Porosity was calculated through a mercury porosimeter as 77.9%, and the Laser Flash method gave a thermal conductivity value of 1.61 K W.m⁻¹.K⁻¹ for the Al₂O₃-ZrO₂ fibers.