Possibilities for strengthening hydroxyapatite ceramics

Some physics during heating and sintering of powder pressings of hydroxyapatite (HA) under conventional (usual) conditions have been studied. It is revealed that heating and firing of the pressings of a middle-dispersity powder are accompanied by release of gases. The gas release hinders and can stop the shrinkage (sintering). The microhardness is low and has a complicated distribution on the surface and in the volume of ceramics. A slight degassing (drying) of the pressing before sintering heightens the density and improves the microhardness characteristics of the ceramics. The shrinkage stop effect is eliminated in pressings of a fine powder. On the basis of the results, a technique and some methods for quality improvement of ceramics were proposed and approbated. They consisted of the manufacture of samples of a mixture of two powders with different dispersity, use of a press technique with two male dies, thermal treatment of pressing before sintering, and the choice of moderate sintering conditions. The resulting ceramics had a density close to the theoretical, almost homogeneous microhardness distribution in the sample and much higher values of microhardness and compressive strength.