Zirconium hydride an ore, usually a zirconium silicate, such as zircon. Zirconium is extracted from zirconium ore by removing the oxygen and silica. This process, known as the Kroll process, was first applied to titanium. The Kroll process results in an alloy containing hafnium. The hafnium and other impurities are removed in a subsequent step. Zirconium hydride is created by combining refined zirconium with hydrogen. Like titanium, solid zirconium dissolves hydrogen quite readily. The density of zirconium hydride varies based the hydrogen and ranges between 5.56 and 6.52 g cm. Even in the narrow range of concentrations which make up zirconium hydride,
Zirconia Toughened Alumina offers several key properties. The mechanical robustness compared to alumina is attributed to the displacive phase transformation of the metastable tetragonal ziroconia grains when the material is stressed. The stress concentration at a crack tip can cause a transformation from a tetragonal crystal structure to a monoclinic one, which has an associated volume expansion of ziroconia. This volume expansion effectively pushes back the propagation of the crack and results in higher toughness and strength. A common specimen of Zirconia Toughened Alumina will have 10-20% zirconium oxides. The 20-30% increase in strength often meets the design criteria needed at a much