Ductile deformation in alumina/silicon carbide nanocomposites

A transmission electron microscope study on cross sections obtained from ground and polished surfaces has revealed that ductile deformation is dominated by dislocations in alumina/silicon carbide nanocomposites containing 1, 5 and 10 vol% silicon carbide particles, and by twinning in unreinforced al...

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Detalhes bibliográficos
Principais autores: Wu, H, Roberts, S, Derby, B
Formato: Journal article
Idioma:English
Publicado em: 2010
Descrição
Resumo:A transmission electron microscope study on cross sections obtained from ground and polished surfaces has revealed that ductile deformation is dominated by dislocations in alumina/silicon carbide nanocomposites containing 1, 5 and 10 vol% silicon carbide particles, and by twinning in unreinforced alumina. The dispersed silicon carbide particles in alumina/silicon carbide nanocomposites restrict the motion of dislocations. A dislocation pinning model is used to compare the possible mechanisms of deformation in alumina and the nanocomposites. Cr-fluorescence piezospectroscopy has been used to characterise the residual stress levels in the materials studied. The measured broadening of the Al2O3/Cr3+ fluorescence peak indicates a dislocation density of 7.3-9.7 x1016 m-2 under the indentations in the nanocomposites, whilst the beneath indentations in alumina is 1-2 orders of magnitude smaller.