High-temperature tensile ductility and crack growth in alumina-spinel ceramics
Takigawa Yorinobu; Ikuhara Yuichi; Sakuma Taketo
Abstract:High-temperature tensile ductility of Al2O3 is much enhanced by spinel (MgO center dot 1.5Al2O3) dispersion. However, the enhanced tensile ductility in Al2O3-20vol%spinel cannot be explained solely from grain size stability or reduction of flow stress. Detailed microstructural analysis reveals that the crack-like cavity growth rate during high-temperature deformation is more sluggish in Al2O3-20vol% spinel than in 0.1wt%MgO-doped single-phase Al2O3. The enhanced tensile ductility in Al2O3-20vol% spinel must be explained from the reduction of crack-like cavity growth rate during deformation. Since the grain boundaries in Al2O3-20vol% spinel mainly consist of Al2O3 grain boundaries and Al2O3/spinel interphase boundaries, the origin of the sluggish crack-like cavity growth in Al2O3-20vol% spinel is due to high resistivity against crack growth in Al2O3/spinel boundaries. Detailed TEM analysis clarifies that there is an epitaxial relationship between Al2O3 and spinel grains in many Al2O3/spinel interphase boundaries. These interphase boundaries are expected to have smaller interfacial energy, which must act to retard the crack-like cavity growth in spinel dispersed Al2O3. Key Words:Al2O3-spinel, superplasticity, tensile ductility, crack-like cavity growth, interphase boundary