Abstract
Texture development, changes in crystal structure and residual stress in the surface layers of yttria-doped tetragonal zirconia polycrystalline (Y-TZP) ceramics unidirectionally ground with SiC abrasive papers were investigated using various X-ray diffraction techniques. The formation of the rhombohedral phase and a little amount of the monoclinic phase by the stress induced transformation was observed in the ground surfaces. Grinding brought about not only the transformation but also the alignment of a c axis along the direction normal to the ground surface in the tetragonal phase, which was due to ferroelastic domain switching under stress applied by grinding. For the roughly ground and subsequently annealed Y-TZP, the development of a (001)[110] texture was closely associated with the stress induced transformation into the rhombohedral phase. A remarkable increase of flexural strength with grinding may be caused by compressive residual stress which arises through the transformation in the surface layer.