Investigation of the properties and leaching characteristics of ceramic cores fabricated using BaZrO3 as the raw material

Abstract BaZrO3 ceramic cores were fabricated successfully by pressureless sintering. Effects of sintering parameters on properties and leaching characteristics of BaZrO3 ceramic cores were investigated carefully. When the holding time was constant, with the increase of sintering temperature, the linear shrinkage, bulk density and bending strength of BaZrO3 ceramic cores all gradually increased, but the apparent porosity gradually decreased. At the same sintering temperature, as the holding time increased from 0.5 h to 2 h, the linear shrinkage, bulk density and bending strength of BaZrO3 ceramic cores showed an increasing trend, while the apparent porosity exhibited an opposite trend. By further extending the holding time, the properties of ceramic cores were not significantly improved. Additionally, the prepared BaZrO3 ceramic cores showed excellent leaching characteristics in the boiled acid solution. Especially, for the BaZrO3 ceramic cores prepared at 1500 °C with 2 h, the leaching rate could reach the max value of 50%/h.