Impact behaviour of MWCNTs reinforced YSZ and Al2O3 ceramic-nanocomposites prepared via vacuum hot-pressing technique

Abstract

Materials for structure-based aerospace applications are on high demand throughout the globe. Owing to its high strength to weight ratio and high stiffness, composites are potential candidates in aerospace, turbine and military applications. This paper concentrates on the impact behaviour of two nanoceramic composites - yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ) and aluminium oxide (Al2O3) reinforced with multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) prepared via vacuum hot-pressing at 1600 °C with a pressure of 30 MPa at varying MWCNTs contents (1, 3 & 5 wt.%). The composite tiles were examined for impact behaviour using gas gun at different velocities (50, 100 & 200 ms−1). The results indicated that composites with 1 wt% MWCNTs reinforced YSZ demonstrated lower penetration compared to other composites owing to its higher interfacial bonding between MWCNTs and YSZ. On the other hand, alumina reinforced MWCNTs showcased a higher depth of penetration due to weak van der Waals force of attraction between MWCNTs and alumina. The reinforcement of CNTs up to 3 wt.% worked as threshold for improvement in impact behaviour for ceramics whereas penetration values increase with increase of MWCNTs.