New generation of zirconia-based guide pins for resistant welding

本课题以高强度、高断裂韧性的氧化锆陶瓷作为焊接行业的非导电引脚进行市场研究。根据温度的不同，氧化锆陶瓷可以以三种不同的结构形式存在（立方、四方和单斜）。用氧化钇或氧化铈掺杂氧化锆有助于将四方相稳定到室温，并赋予理想的机械性能。然而，氧化钇和氧化铈的作用是完全不同的，它们加入氧化锆会产生不同的性能。例如，添加二氧化铈导致高断裂韧性，但低弯曲强度和硬度。相反，钇的加入提高了强度，但以牺牲断裂韧性为代价。需要一种抗折强度等于或大于用氧化钇稳定的氧化锆，断裂韧性等于或大于用氧化铈稳定的氧化锆的氧化锆组合物。然而，过去制作这种构图的尝试并不成功。

This proposal dels with the market study for high strength high fracture toughness zirconia ceramics for use as nonconductive pins in welding industry. Zirconia ceramics can exist in three different structural forms (cubic, tetragonal, and monoclinic) depending upon the temperature. Doping zirconia with yttria or ceria serves to stabilize the tetragonal phase down to room temperature and imparts desirable mechanical properties. However, the roles of yttria and ceria are quite different and their addition to zirconia results in different properties. As an example, the addition of ceria results in high fracture toughness but low bending strength and hardness. In contrast, the addition of yttria improves strength but at the expense of fracture toughness. A zirconia composition that has a bending strength equal to or greater than a zirconia stabilized with yttria and a fracture toughness equal to or greater than a zirconia stabilized with ceria is needed. However, past attempts to produce such a composition have not been successful.