A review on synthesis of zirconia toughened alumina (ZTA) for cutting tool applications

Abstract

Zirconia toughened alumina (ZTA) are among those materials which have high demand in the manufacturing industries, due to its application as cutting tool material for machining of high strength steel alloys. The properties such as high hardness, high wear resistance, chemical inertness at room temperature, high hot hardness, rapture strength, moderate heat resistance and compressive strength make its application superior than other cutting tool materials. The said superior properties of ZTA have been achieved when particles of yttria stabilized zirconia are uniformly dispersed inside alumina matrix. Therefore, to achieve the desired properties of ZTA, the first step is to develop well homogenized powders. The powders are developed through various synthesis processes such as sol-gel, hydro thermal synthesis, solvo thermal synthesis, co precipitation and chemical vapour deposition (CVD). Hence, an in-depth literature review has been made towards the synthesis processes of ZTA. The synthesized powders of ZTA are used to fabricate cutting inserts using powders metallurgy processes. Therefore, a rigorous analysis has been carried out towards the development of cutting inserts using ZTA powders. A subsequent analysis has also been made to show the effect of additive inside ZTA matrix on the performance of cutting inserts.