Mechanical characterization of microwave sintered zinc oxide

The mechanical characterization of microwave sintered zinc oxide disks is r eported. The microwave sintering was done with a specially designed applica tor placed in a domestic microwave oven operating at a frequency of 2.45 GH z to a maximum power output of 800 Watt, These samples with a wide variatio n of density and hence, of open pore volume percentage, were characterized in terms of its elastic modulus determination by ultrasonic time of flight measurement using a 15 MHz transducer, In addition, the load dependence of the microhardness was examined for the range of loads 0.1-20 N, Finally, th e fracture toughness data (K-IC) was obtained using the indentation techniq ue.