Ductile-to-brittle Transition in Superplastic Silicon Nitride Ceramics

Abstract

The ductile-to-brittle transition was observed in a superplastic silicon nitride nanoceramic. This transition depends on strain rates and deformation temperatures. Generally, the material exhibits ductility at low strain rates and high deformation temperatures. At 1600 °C, the material is brittle when the strain rates are higher than 10−3/s. At a fixed strain rate of 10−3/s, the material exhibits brittleness when the temperatures are lower than 1550 °C. Moreover, critical strain rate for the brittle to ductile transition depends on deformation temperature. The critical strain rates increase with increases in the deformation temperature. When the deformation temperature is 1700 °C, the critical strain rates reach a maximum at 10−2/s. The extent of superplastic deformation in the present material was found to be limited not by intergranular cavitation but by the initiation and growth of surface cracks.