Influence of Spray Drying Conditions on Particle Size and Morphology of Al_2O_3/ZrO_2(3Y) Composite Particles

摘要

Zirconia toughened alumina materials are frequently used in biomedical applications due to their enhanced toughness, strength and wear resistance compared to monolithic alumina. In this work, the influence of spray drying conditions is studied on the characteristics of spray-dried Al_2O_3/ZrO_2(3Y) composite particles. The SEM images of composite particles confirm the formation of dense composite particles of round shape without internal holes. The particles of the best morphology of the median diameter of 44 μm were produced by drying the slurry of 70 wt.% solid content with feed rate of 15 ml/min using the drying air with inlet temperature of 210 °C and spraying air with flow rate of 357 1/h.