Internal friction and torsional creep behavior of chemically vapor deposited boron nitride

Abstract

Dense hexagonal BN processed via chemical vapor deposition (CVD) was tested with respect to damping, shear modulus, and torsional creep rate up to temperatures as high as ≈2300 °C. The microstructural characteristics of the material both before and after creep testing were studied by high-resolution electron microscopy (HREM). The CVD process yields a homogeneous nanosized microstructure with no other secondary phase detectable. Damping experiments revealed no plastic relaxation during testing up to ≈2000 °C, which is consistent with the fact that also no creep deformation could be detected below such a high temperature. Small porosity and an increased amorphization process were noted by HREM inspection after stress exposure at ≈2300 °C. These phenomena may be responsible for both the enhanced damping capacity and the creep rate of the material which, in the range of the present testing conditions, seems to follow the simple viscoelastic behavior of a Maxwell solid.