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Toughness properties of a silicon carbide with an in situ induced heterogeneous grain structure

Journal Article · · Journal of the American Ceramic Society; (United States)
;  [1]
  1. National Inst. of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD (United States). Materials Science and Engineering Lab.

Toughness characteristics of a heterogeneous silicon carbide with a coarsened and elongated grain structure and an intergranular second phase are evaluated relative to a homogeneous, fine-grain control using indentation--strength data. The heterogeneous material exhibits a distinctive flaw tolerance, indicative of a pronounced toughness curve. Quantitative evaluation of the data reveals an enhanced toughness in the long-crack region, with the implication of degraded toughness in the short-crack region. The enhanced long-crack toughness is identified with crack-interface bridging. The degraded short-crack toughness is attributed to weakened grain or interface boundaries and to internal residual stresses from thermal expansion mismatch. A profound manifestation of the toughness-curve behavior is a transition in the nature of mechanical damage in Hertzian contacts, from classical single-crack cone fracture in the homogeneous control to distributed subsurface damage in the heterogeneous material.

OSTI ID:
6861916
Journal Information:
Journal of the American Ceramic Society; (United States), Journal Name: Journal of the American Ceramic Society; (United States) Vol. 77:10; ISSN 0002-7820; ISSN JACTAW
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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