Strength of aluminium titanate/mullite composites containing thermal stabilizers

This work contains a study on the room temperature-fracture strength of three aluminium titanate-based materials containing mullite and different thermal stabilizers (namely Fe2O3 and MgO). The highest inert strength was reached by the material sintered without any stabilizer. The MgO-doped material had a comparable inert strength, but a significantly higher Weibull modulus. Finally, the Fe2O3-doped material showed the worst mechanical properties. In all cases, a critical load above which strength degraded was apparent. These behaviours have been analyzed in terms of the type of additives and the particular microstructures. Conclusions about the potential use of these materials are briefly stated. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.