Action of explosive loads on a metastable zirconium-dioxide structure

The influence of nonuniformity of the initial zirconium dioxide on the polymorphic and structural transformations in explosive loading is investigated. In the highly disperse quenched structure $t'$-ZrO$_2$, there is further reduction in domain size if their boundaries are not stabilized by an Al$_2$O$_3$ glass phase. In preliminarily annealed equilibrium $t$-ZrO$_2$, as a result of loading, the structure becomes increasingly fragmentary and prone to $t\to m$ transformation. In repeated explosive loading, the structural changes in quenched $t'$-ZrO$_2$ and annealed $t$-ZrO$_2$ are similar.