34 research outputs found
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Microwave processing of silicon carbide. CRADA final report
A Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) between Lockheed Martin Energy Systems, Inc. (LMES) and Dow Chemical Company was initiated on May 3, 1993. (Lockheed Martin Energy Research Inc. (LMER) replaced LMES). The completion date for the Agreement was December 1996. The purpose of this project is to develop microwave processing techniques to produce superior silicon carbide. Sintered silicon carbide is an attractive material for use in high-stress, high-temperature, high-wear, or highly corrosive applications. However, use in these applications has been hampered by a lack of consistency in strength, density, and other physical properties. It is proposed that the enhanced sintering that has been achieved using microwaves in oxide and halide systems be applied to the sintering of these materials to produce a more highly controlled density and microstructure. This will, in turn, increase the strength and Weibull modulus of the sintered body. The use of microwave energy to anneal for a moderate temperature (1,400--1,600 C) anneal in a high vacuum (< 10{sup {minus}4} Torr) results in an improvement in the sintered density and density distribution. These changes in turn result in improved properties of the sintered compacts. Further, scale up of the process has resulted in the routine production of 3 kg components in excess of 4 cm in thickness
Fatigue crack propagation in aluminum nitride ceramics under cyclic compression
Room temperature fatigue crack growth characteristics under cyclic compressive loads were investigated in pure and 3 wt% yttria doped hot pressed aluminum nitride ceramics. A single edge-notch specimen geometry was used to induce a stable Mode I fatigue crack under cyclic compressive loads. The fatigue crack growth occurred in three stages, where the first stage is dominated by microcrack nucleation, coalescence and slow growth within the notch root. During the second stage, the crack growth is accelerated and finally, the crack growth deceleration and arrest occurred in third stage. The fatigue crack growth occurred predominantly by intergranular fracture. Insights gained from the experimental results and microscopic observations are discussed