Ceramazirc Zirconia Advances Ceramic Industry for Multiple Uses

Imagine a material that combines the strength of steel with the corrosion resistance of ceramics while maintaining exceptional fracture toughness. This remarkable combination challenges conventional understanding of engineering materials. CeramaZirc™ zirconia ceramic represents this groundbreaking advancement, playing critical roles across numerous industrial applications.

Zirconium dioxide (ZrO₂) ceramic, often called "ceramic steel," uniquely combines high hardness, wear resistance, and corrosion resistance. Most notably, it possesses one of the highest fracture toughness values among ceramic materials. The market offers various zirconia grades, with yttria-stabilized zirconia (Y-PSZ) and magnesia-stabilized zirconia (Mg-PSZ) being most common. Both demonstrate excellent properties, though specific applications require careful grade selection based on operational conditions and design requirements. Zirconia's high thermal expansion and exceptional crack resistance make it ideal for joining with metals like steel.

• High-temperature resistance: Withstands temperatures up to 1000°C, with some grades reaching 1500°C
• Low thermal conductivity: Minimizes heat transfer, improving energy efficiency
• Chemical inertness: Maintains stability across various chemical environments
• Resistance to molten metal corrosion: Performs exceptionally even in high-temperature molten metal conditions
• Outstanding wear resistance: Extends component lifespan while reducing maintenance costs
• Exceptional fracture toughness: Resists crack propagation, enhancing reliability and safety
• Superior hardness: Prevents scratching and wear while maintaining dimensional accuracy

CeramaZirc™ zirconia serves critical functions across multiple industries, including:

• High-pressure equipment: Manufactures ball valves and seats ensuring reliable sealing under extreme pressure
• High-density grinding media: Facilitates precision grinding of various materials
• Metal forming: Produces rollers and guides that enhance forming precision
• Wire guides: Minimizes friction and wear during wire processing
• Metal extrusion dies: Enables efficient production of metal profiles
• Deep-well valves: Ensures reliable operation in harsh environments
• Powder compaction dies: Improves product density and strength
• Pump seals and bearings: Enhances pump efficiency and longevity
• High-temperature furnace components: Maintains stability in extreme heat

CeramaZirc™ zirconia employs various manufacturing processes, each producing materials with slightly different properties tailored to specific applications. The primary grades include:

• CeramaZirc™ Ultra Tough zirconia
• CeramaZirc™ Ultra Tough HIP zirconia
• CeramaZirc™ 3YZ zirconia
• CeramaZirc™ Nano HIP zirconia

This advanced zirconia ceramic composite combines partially stabilized zirconia with enhanced crystal structure. It achieves optimal balance between flexural strength, hardness, and fracture toughness, particularly excelling in applications involving mechanical impact, vibration, or shock.

• Maximum operating temperature: 1500°C
• Fully dense sintering creates pore-free structure
• Exceptional fracture toughness and impact resistance
• Unique microstructure enables crack deflection toughening
• Enhanced hydrothermal aging resistance through ceria stabilization

• High-pressure ball valves and seats
• Ultra-high pressure pumping components
• Flow control devices for high-pressure homogenizers
• Deep-well valves and seats
• Metal forming rollers and guides

This newest, toughest composite combines partially stabilized zirconia with enhanced crystal structure, densified through hot isostatic pressing (HIP) for superior strength and reliability.

• HIP processing eliminates internal porosity
• Optimal balance of mechanical properties
• Exceptional fracture toughness and impact resistance
• Crack deflection toughening mechanism
• Improved hydrothermal aging resistance

High-purity 3 mol% yttria-stabilized zirconia (3YSZ) features refined grain structure ensuring superior mechanical performance. Uniform grain size distribution provides better isotropic properties.

Highest purity 3 mol% yttria-stabilized zirconia (3YSZ) with ultrafine grain structure delivers exceptional performance. HIP densification achieves full theoretical density for outstanding reliability.

Zirconia can be machined in green, bisque, or fully dense states. While relatively easy to shape in pre-sintered conditions, the high-temperature sintering process required for full densification causes approximately 20% shrinkage. This makes maintaining tight tolerances in pre-sintered machining impossible.

Achieving precise tolerances requires diamond tool machining/grinding of fully sintered material. This process uses precision diamond-coated tools to wear material into desired shapes, though zirconia's inherent toughness makes this time-consuming and costly.

While Y-PSZ excels in demanding mechanical applications, it may not suit very high-temperature uses due to grain boundary sliding. Long-term high-temperature exposure can cause transformation from strong tetragonal to weaker monoclinic phase. Similarly, warm humid environments may degrade performance through hydrothermal aging. Therefore, YSZ performs best in dry, moderate temperature conditions.

M-PSZ offers better temperature and moisture resistance without phase migration, maintaining strength where YSZ performance would decline.

While zirconia boasts the highest fracture toughness among oxide ceramics, alumina provides cost-effective solutions with excellent hardness and thermal stability. Zirconia-toughened alumina (ZTA) composites combine beneficial properties of both materials, retaining alumina's hardness while gaining zirconia's improved toughness and strength.