Abstract:
Aim of this work is to investigate the effect of hydroxyapatite (HA) on physical properties of
porous alumina bodies fabricated through protein foaming-consolidation method using egg yolk as a pore
creating agent. Hydrothermal derived HA powder was used as bioactive ceramic. Alumina and HA powders
were mixed with yolk, starch and darvan 821 A at an adjusted mass ratio to make slurry. HA-to-alumina
mass ratio were in the range of 0.0 to 0.8 w/w. The slurries were cast into cylindrical shaped molds and then
dried for foaming and consolidation process. Subsequently, the dried bodies were burned at 600°C for 1 h,
followed by sintering at temperatures of 1,300°C for 2 h. The porous alumina-HA composites with pore size
in the range of 50-500 μm and densities of 2.7 – 2.9 g cm-3 were obtained. Porosity of bodies decreased from
35.9 to 31.7% when HA-to-alumina mass ratio increased from 0.0 to 0.8 w/w. Compressive strength of
sintered body was 0.8 MPa at 35.9% porosity and 2.9 MPa at 31.7% porosity. XRD pattern results show
intensity of tricalcium phosphate (TCP) phase in bodies increased with HA loadings
