Analytical modeling of thermal residual stresses and optimal design of ZrO₂/(ZrO₂+Ni) sandwich ceramics

The joining of ceramics with metals have been extensively used in applications requiring high strength and excellent heat insulation. However, evaluating the residual stress generated inevitably due to the mismatch in coefficients of thermal expansion of ceramic and metal is challenging, which is very important for fabrication and characterization of layered inhomogeneous material. A simplified analytical model considering the overall deformation compatibility is established to compute the interlaminar residual stresses of the ZrO₂/(ZrO₂+Ni) sandwich ceramics, which agrees well with the results obtained by the commercial finite element package. The effects of the thickness ratio of the transitional layer to the middle layer, and the number of transitional layers on the properties of the ZrO₂/(ZrO₂+Ni) sandwich ceramics are researched to obtain the optimal structure.