Thermal Shock Resistance and Thermal Expansion Behavior of $Al_2TiO_5$ Ceramics

Aluminium titanate (Al₂TiO5) with an excellent thermal shock resistant and a low the expansion coefficient was obtained by solid solution with MgO, SiO₂, and ZrO₂ in the Al₂TiO5 lattice or in the grain boundary solution through electrofusion in an arc furnace. However, these materials have low mechanical strength due to the presence of microcracks developed by a large difference in thermal expansion coefficients along crystallographic axes. Pure Al₂TiO5 tends to decompose into α-Al₂O₃ and TiO₂-rutile in the temperature range of 750-1300℃ that rendered it apparently useless for industrial applications. Several thermal shock tests were performed: Long therm thermal annealing test at 1100℃ for 100h; and water quenching from 950 to room temperature (RT). Cyclic thermal expansion coefficients up to 1500℃ before and after decomposition tests was also measured using a dilatometer, changes in the microstructure, thermal expansion coefficients, Young's modulus and strengths were determined. The role of microcracks in relation to thermal shock resistance and thermal expansion coefficient is discussed.