Electrical and mechanical properties of SiC whisker reinforced PZT ceramics

The electrical and mechanical properties of Pb(Ti, Zr)O3 ceramics reinforced by SiC whisker were measured as a function of SiC whisker content. With increasing SiC whisker content, the porosity increased, and as a result, the sintered density, remanent polarization, permittivity, planar coupling factor decreased. The mechanical strength was measured using a three point bending test. The average failure stresses were increased about 36% by addition of 0.5 wt% SiC whisker compared to those of pure Pb(Zr, Ti)O3 ceramics