This study involves optimizing hardness and toughness of spark plasma sintered ZTA through modeling followed by experimental validation. The simulated and experimentally observed results were in close agreement to each other. The parametric order of 'importance' for optimization was zirconia content, SPS temperature and heating rate. © 2011 Elsevier B.V.

Sundararajan G

Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering

D. Chakravarty

H. Gokhale

IIT Madras is a public technical and research university located in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. Founded in 1959, it is recognised as an Institute of National Importance.

IIT Madras has been ranked as the top engineering institute in India for four years in a row by the National Institutional Ranking Framework of the MHRD

It currently offers undergraduate, postgraduate and research degrees across 16 disciplines in Engineering, Sciences, Humanities and Management. About 596 faculty belonging to science and engineering departments and centres of the Institute are engaged in teaching, research and industrial consultancy.

Journal	Materials Science and Engineering A
ISSN	09215093