Papers by Author: Jose Luis Rodríguez-Galicia

Abstract: In recent years there have been many studies attempting to increase the mechanical properties and reliability of structural ceramic materials; the forming methods used for this purpose are based on multi-layered materials to induce residual stress between interface layers. In this work were made monolithic and multi-layered materials manufactured by casting in plaster of Paris molds using zircon and alumina as raw materials, mechanical and microstructure characterizations were compared, founding that, indeed, the laminar designs can substantially improve the mechanical properties of manufactured materials by the compressive stress between the interface layers.

Abstract: The mechanical behaviour of ceramic refractories formulated in the MgO-CaO-SiO2- ZrO2 system is analysed in terms of the room temperature Young´s modulus, the modulus of rupture and the work of fracture at 25 and 1100°C. The materials have been designed taking into account the phase equilibrium relationships to obtain MgO-CaZrO3-Ca2SiO4-Ca3Mg(SiO4)2 or MgO-CaZrO3-Ca3Mg(SiO4)2-c-ZrO2 as final crystalline phases. Different relationships between the proportion and sizes of the fines and the aggregates have been explored. The microstructure of the materials has been characterised in terms of density, crystalline phases and phase distribution and morphology. A combination of X-Ray diffraction (XRD) analyses and Reflected Light Optical Microscopy (RLOM) has been used. The relationships between the obtained phases and microstructures and the grain size distributions of the used raw materials have been established. The relationships between the mineralogical composition and the obtained microstructure and the mechanical behaviour are discussed.