Study on Mass Segregation Phenomenon of Al2O3 Ceramic Slurries during Centrifugal Slip Casting

Mass segregation of Al2O3 slurries during centrifugal slip casing has important effect on microstructure and mechanical property of sintered Al2O3 ceramic, so the study on effect of centrifugal process parameters on mass segregation of slurries has significant meaning. Al2O3 ceramic slurries with different solid content varying from 30vol% to 50vol% were prepared. The effect of centrifugal time, centrifugal acceleration and solid content of slurries on green density uniformity of Al2O3 ceramic compacts was studied. The microstructure of centrifuged compacts was observed using scanning electron microscopy (SSX-505). The results show with the increase of centrifugal acceleration and solid content of slurries, the mass segregation of Al2O3 particles with different size increases and decreases, respectively. However, centrifugal time has no obvious effect on green density uniformity. SEM observation shows the green compacts have uniform microstructure when centrifuged at 2860g for 2h with 50vol% slurries.