Rheological characterisation of Al2O3 slips for aqueous low pressure injection moulding

Near net shaping processes are receiving increased attention for manufactur ing low cost, reliable ceramics. Low pressure injection moulding (LPIM) is a suitable forming procedure that allows the production of complex shaped p arts by using aqueous suspensions, with interesting economic and environmen tal benefits. lit the present work, aqueous Al2O3 slips were prepared and c haracterised for LPIM, focusing on their rheological properties not only at room temperature, but also at the injection temperatures (up to 70 degrees C), as well as on the influence of the homogenisation procedure. Agarose ( 1 wt-%) was added as gelating binder. Injection was performed at temperatur es of 55, 60, and 70 degrees C, and the resulting green pieces were charact erised in terms of density, shrinkage, and microstructure. BCT/369. (C) 200 0 IoM Communications Ltd.