Cyclic fatigue life- and crack-growth behavior of zirconia-niobium composites

A 3Y-TZP/Nb composite fabricated by Hot-pressing (HP) sintering with well-distributed lamellar/flake-shaped metal particles (20 vol% fraction) has been studied under cyclic loading. Fatigue life was determined for the ceramic/metal composite as well as for monolithic zirconia to compare the sensitivities of both materials to cyclic stresses. In both cases, the fatigue test was performed according to ISO 6872. It was found that the 3Y-TZP/Nb composite exhibits fatigue behavior which was compared with monolithic zirconia. The growth of fatigue cracks influences the bridging actions of the metallic grains and causes significant degradation in the mechanical properties of the composite material. © 2013 The American Ceramic Society.Funded by: Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation. Grant Numbers: MAT2009-14542-C02-01, MAT2012-38645 and JAE-Pre Programme.Peer Reviewe