FINITE ELEMENT MODELLING AND STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS OF ZIRCONIA AND ZIRCONIA-CNT COMPOSITE MATERIALS

Carbon Nanotubes (CNTs) were added into a ceramic matrix of Zirconia (ZrO 2 ) to improve the ceramic hardness and stiffness, and to allow the use of Zirconia in new applications. However, the mechanical behaviour of this new composite material is still not well understood. The finite element (FE) method has been widely used to understand the mechanical behaviour of new materials. Therefore, this study aimed to develop finite element models to simulate the mechanical behaviour of pure zirconia and zirconia composites with different quantities of CNTs. Pure Zirconia and composite Zirconia with CNTs (1.0% in weight) samples were prepared and experimentally tested via a three-point bending test. Finite element models of the samples, for both pure and composite zirconia, were developed and the experimental test was numerically reproduced. The model's performance to simulate the samples' mechanical behaviour was evaluated through comparison with experimental results. The models compared well with the experimental results, which indicate the ability of the finite element method to simulate the mechanical behaviour of new materials.