In this study, aluminium titanate (AT, Al2TiO5) and mullite (M, 3Al2O3·2SiO2) ceramics were synthesized by reaction sintering from Al2O3, SiO2 and TiO2 powders which consisted of homogenization by wet ball milling followed by sintering AT and M in air at 1550 oC for 2 hrs and 1400 oC for 2 hrs, respectively. AT and M in different amounts (0 and 20 wt. %) were mixed with Porcelain (P). AT and M reinforced porcelain ceramics were prepared by the powder metallurgy route. After drying, the powders were compressed to preforms of 56x12x10 mm by uniaxial pressing at 200 MPa. The green compacts were sintered at 1100-1200 oC for 1-5 hr under air. Investigations were carried out, on the effect of addition of AT and M in terms of physical properties, microstructure, XRD phases, as well as wear and mechanical properties of AT and M-reinforced porcelain ceramic composites. Phase and microstructural characterizations of the sintered materials were carried out by using X-ray diffraction technique (XRD) and scanning electron microscope (SEM). The Micro Vickers hardness testing was performed using the Shimadzu HMV-MIII hardness tester.

Keywords: Aluminium Titanate, Mullite, Porcelain, characterization, Hardness