Fabrication of highly translucent yttria-stabilized zirconia ceramics using stereolithography-based additive manufacturing

The current study describes the mechanical properties and translucency of 5 mol% yttria-partially stabilized zirconia (5Y-PSZ) prepared via stereolithography (SLA). A stable 5Y-PSZ ceramic paste with a maximum solid loading of 52 vol% is prepared for the SLA process, and the corresponding rheological model between viscosity and shear rate is analyzed. After sintering, all samples exhibited the same hardness and fracture toughness, approaching 12.65 GPa and 3.20 MPa m1/2, respectively. Also, the density and flexural strength reached their maximum values at 1550 degrees C, which were 5.95 g/cm(3) and 685.6 MPa, respectively, while the contrast ratio (CR) reached its minimum value of 0.43 at 1500 degrees C. Moreover, failure origin and Weibull analysis are performed to evaluate the structural reliability of the ceramic components. It is observed that the yttrium content in large grains was higher than the small grains, indicating large grains consisted of the cubic phase. Herein, the stronger grain boundaries are caused by the higher segregation of yttrium at grain boundaries, altering fracture mode from the intergranular fracture to the mixed mode of trans- and intergranular fracture at 1550 degrees C.