Freeze casting of aqueous alumina slurries with glycerol for porous ceramics

Experiments have been performed to show that the mechanical properties of alumina porous ceramics may be improved by introducing glycerol into the raw slurries and then casting them under a constant cooling rate. The effects of glycerol on the freeze casting process and thereby on the microstructure and mechanical properties of porous ceramics obtained are investigated. It is shown that the addition of glycerol will increase both the slurry viscosity and sample sintered density. SEM images for microstructure of the final ceramics reveal that a good connection between ceramic lamellae has been promoted. This connection makes as-prepared porous ceramics obtain high mechanical properties. For the 30 vol.% alumina slurry with glycerol, the axial and radial compression strengths reach to, respectively, 255.1 MPa and 105.8 MPa. Crown Copyright (C) 2009 Published by Elsevier Ltd and Techna Group S.r.l. All rights reserved.