Surface mechanical properties of alumina matrix nanocomposites
- Univ. of Oxford (United Kingdom). Dept. of Materials
- Univ. of Leeds (United Kingdom). School of Materials
The authors have examined the surface properties of alumina/silicon carbide nanocomposites containing 5 vol.% SiC particles of 4 different size distributions with mean particle size from 12 to 115 nm. In all cases the nanocomposites were more resistant to a severe erosive wear environment than monolithic alumina of similar grain size. The resistance to wear increases with decreasing SiC particle size. The authors have measured the damage introduced to these ceramics during lapping and polishing by three techniques: counting surface flaws visible to an optical microscope, measuring surface elastic constants using an acoustic microscope, and determining surface crack sizes using a Hertzian indentation technique. Surface observation and Hertzian indentation show the nanocomposites to have both a smaller mean defect size and fewer large defects than similar grain size alumina. This is supported by their acoustic microscope results which show a lower level of surface damage in the nanocomposites after a given lapping or polishing process.
- OSTI ID:
- 554102
- Journal Information:
- Acta Materialia, Journal Name: Acta Materialia Journal Issue: 10 Vol. 45; ISSN 1359-6454; ISSN ACMAFD
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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