Effect of TiN Addition on the Low Temperature Degradation of Ceramic Tool Materials 3Y-TZP

Ceramic tool materials, 3Y-TZP added by TiN particles, were fabricated through hot-pressing techniques. The effects of TiN on their low-temperature degradation at 220# in air were investigated. It is shown that TiN can improve the stability of t-ZrO2 and inhibit the transformation from tetragonal to monoclinic phase, and that the content of TiN affects the stability of tetragonal phase and the propagation of tetragonal-to-monoclinic transformation into the specimen interiors. It is suggested that the grain-boundary phase prevents the nucleation of transformation, and that the high elastic modulus of TiN can prevent the propagation of phase transformation by resisting the volume expansion of transformation. When the content of TiN is 20wt%, the ceramic material shows better low temperature degradation resistance.