Powder Characteristics on the Rheological Performance of Resin-based Zirconia Suspension for Stereolithography

As for ceramic stereolithography technique,the preparation of suitable resin-based ceramic slurry is of primary importance.In this study,the effects of powder characteristics such as specific surface area,particle size and distribution,particle morphology on the rheological behavior of zirconia resin-based suspensions were investigated intensively.Results show that the specific surface area of the powder is the most important factor affecting slurry viscosity.Choosing low specific surface area and quasi-spherical shaped powder is more likely to obtain low viscosity slurries.In addition,the influence of solid loading on the flow behavior were also studied using Krieger-Dougherty model.Zirconia samples with the relative density of(97.83±0.33)%were obtained after sintering at 1550℃.No obvious abnormal grain growth in the microstructure of the sintered body is observed.Results indicate that after the optimization of the processing parameters with the help of rheology characterization,complex-shaped high-quality zirconia parts can be obtained using the stereolithography technique.