Neutron irradiation studies on superplastic zirconia-based ceramics are now in progress as an innovative basic project using the High-temperature Engineering Test Reactor (HTTR) in Japan. The characteristics of the zirconia-based engineering components, made through the formation of superplastic, may be strongly affected by their response to transient or steady-state heat flow. Reliable thermophysical properties such as the coefficients of thermal expansion and thermal conductivity are, therefore, needed to estimate and predict the influence of a high-temperature environment. Accordingly, one of this project's targets is to study the thermophysical properties of superplastic zirconia-based ceramics. The first stage of the research addresses the effects of superplastic deformations on the thermophysical properties of a typical superplastic ceramic, 3 mol% yttria-stabilised tetragonal zirconia polycrystals (3Y-TZP), in its un-irradiated state. First, superplastic tensile deformations were conducted on 3Y-TZP specimens under different conditions in order to obtain specimens with different microstructural characteristics. Afterwards, the following actions were taken: 1. Specific heat measurements were conducted on the specimens at temperatures ranging from 473 K to 1 273 K. 2. The thermal diffusivity was measured using a laser flash method. The thermal conductivity was then calculated from the measured thermal diffusivity, specific heat and density. 3. The linear thermal expansion was measured by a push-rod type dilatometer from 300 K to 1 473 K. The coefficient of linear thermal expansion (CTE) was estimated from the thermal expansion data. The results obtained from the above measurements are discussed, as is the microstructural evolution caused by the superplastic deformations. It was found that the specific heat was almost independent of microstructural evolution, whereas the thermal diffusivity, thermal conductivity and thermal expansion were quite sensitive to deformation-induced cavities. The changes in the average grain size and grain aspect ratio had almost no effect on the thermophysical properties within the present experimental range.
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