Mechanical properties and thermal shock resistance performance of spark plasma sintered MgO–Al2O3–SiO2 ceramics

MgO–Al 2 O 3 –SiO 2 composite ceramics were prepared by spark plasma sintering (SPS). In addition, phase composition, microstructure, mechanical properties , and thermal shock properties have been systematically characterized. Introduction of Al 2 O 3 and SiO 2 significantly increased mechanical properties and thermal shock resistance of these composite ceramics. MgO–Al 2 O 3 –SiO 2 composite ceramics prepared by spark plasma sintering (SPS) exhibited fine grain size. Reduced grain size may result in extraordinary properties. Experimental results showed that MgO–Al 2 O 3 –SiO 2 composite ceramics had the highest flexural strength and hardness among all studied ceramics of 269.6 ± 9.22 MPa and 12.51 ± 0.29 GPa, respectively. Moreover, MgO–Al 2 O 3 –SiO 2 composites can reach 16 thermal cycle times. This shows that it is feasible to prepare high-performance MgO composite ceramics by SPS. Furthermore, introduction of Al 2 O 3 and SiO 2 is effective method to improve mechanical properties and thermal shock resistance of MgO composite ceramics.