Indentation Creep in Zirconia Ceramics under Variable Loads

Abstract

Time dependent deformation at room and elevated temperature is a significant property of zirconia ceramics and has a direct influence on their use. An understanding of this time dependent behaviour is therefore important in predicting the service life of a component. In this work, the indentation creep behaviour of two typical zirconia ceramics ¾ ceria stabilised polycrystalline tetragonal (Ce-TZP) and yttria (6%) stabilized polycrystalline cubic zirconia, YCPZ, have been investigated from room temperature to 600 °C. Indentation creep tests with various loads yielded identical creep rate, which indicates that indentation size effect has no significant effect on the indentation creep of zirconia ceramics. Tests with variable loads, using a spring loaded apparatus, exhibited comparable indentation creep rates to that under constant loading.