Cordierite ceramics are often used as kiln-furniture due to their good mechanical and Hot MOR properties. Still, there is aneed to improve properties like strength at high temperatures. Cordierite ceramics were prepared using the solid-state methodby doping variable amount of Zirconia particles in the recipe. The percentage of Cordierite (2MgO.2Al2O3.5SiO2) ismaintained as SiO2-51.4%, Al2O3-34.8% and MgO-13.8%. Variable weight percentages of Zirconia particles were added to theCordierite body and milled. The recipe is compacted and microwave sintered. Microwave furnace is used for sintering thedoped Cordierite body. Particle size measurement, XRD and FESEM were carried out for all the samples. The hardness andHot MOR tests were conducted. The physical properties of all the sintered bodies, such as bulk density, porosity and waterabsorption were measured by the Archimedes method. It is observed that the addition of Zirconia particles to Cordieriteincreased the Hot MOR of the Cordierite body. It is one good indication to recommend that the Cordierite can be used in hightemperature applications with higher loads.

Keywords: Cordierite, Zirconia doping, Hot MOR, Thermal shock resistance, Kiln furniture