Purpose Zirconia ceramics exhibit high strength and fracture toughness. The purpose of this paper is to research a possibility of crack healing in zirconia ceramics. Design/methodology/approach ZrO 2 /SiC composite ceramics are sintered and subjected to three‐point bending. A surface crack of 100 μ m in diameter is formed on each specimen. The cracks are healed and the specimens are tested under bending. Findings The paper finds that ZrO 2 /SiC composite ceramic material had a high crack‐healing ability at a considerably low temperature. For example, a crack of 100 μ m in diameter is healed even at 600°C. Research limitations/implications The paper provides a low temperature healing and a new mechanism of crack healing. Originality/value The paper shows the healing temperature and the minimum time required to heal showed a good proportional relation on the Arrhenius plot at temperatures of 600‐800°C. Moreover, the crack healing is caused by SiO 2 cristobalite produced during the healing.
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HOUJOU et al. (2010) studied this question.
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