The heating thermal shock experimental study of ZrO₂(5Y) ceramics: Axial compression effects

Abstract In this paper, different magnitudes of axial precompression stress were applied to the ZrO₂(5Y) specimens, and then the heating thermal shock experiments were carried out at different initial temperatures to the same target temperature of 2000°C. The effect of axial precompression stress on the thermal shock resistance of ZrO₂(5Y) ceramic materials under the aforementioned thermal shock environment was studied systemically. The test results showed that, compared with the stress‐free state, the 20 MPa axial precompression stress improves the thermal shock resistance of the specimens, while the 40 MPa axial precompression stress reduces it, and the reason of this mechanism was explained. And the evolution of the effect of axial precompression stress on thermal shock resistance with thermal shock temperature difference was also analyzed. This study provides valuable recommendations for improving the stability and reliability of ZrO₂(5Y) ceramics under aforementioned thermal shock environment. In addition, failure source and crack propagation path were observed on the thermal shock fracture surfaces of specimen after thermal shock from room temperature to 2000°C, which has not been reported before.