Mechanical properties of alumina porcelain during heating

Abstract

The mechanical strength and Young's modulus of green alumina porcelain (50 wt. % of kaolin, 25 wt. % of Al2O3, and 25 wt. % of feldspar) were measured during heating up to 900 °C and 1100 °C, respectively. To this end, we used the three point-bending method and modulated force thermomechanical analysis (mf-TMA). The loss liberation - of the physically bound water (20 - 250 °C) strengthens the sample and Young's modulus increases its values significantly. The dehydroxylation that takes place in the range of 400 - 650 °C causes a slight decrease in Young's modulus. On the other hand, the mechanical strength slightly increases in this temperature range, although it has a sudden drop at 420 °C. Beyond the dehydroxylation range, above 650 °C, both Young's modulus and mechanical strength increase. Above 950 °C, a sharp increase of Young's modulus is caused by the solid-state sintering and the new structure created by the high-temperature reactions in metakaolinite.