Abstract
In conventional ceramics processing, a large amount of organic binder is employed to maintain shapes of green compacts. The development of a binder-free forming technology makes it possible to eliminate the binder burnout process, leading to decreases in energy and resources relating to the manufacturing, and generates a smaller environmental burden. Recently, we developed a novel ceramic forming process by surface hydration of particles through microwave irradiation. In this process, the irradiating a green body with microwaves enhances the hydration reaction between the water and the particle surfaces, creating surface aluminum trihydroxides structure of adjacent particles that bind together tightly. The key point of improvement in binding strength on this process was enhancement of surface hydration reaction. In this work, we investigated that the effects of mechanical surface treatment on the hydration ability of alumina powder surfaces. Furthermore, the mechanical property of alumina green body prepared by this forming method was discussed.
