Ferroelasticity of t'-Zirconia: II, In situ Straining in a High-Voltage Electron Microscope

The ferroelastic deformation of t '-ZrO₂, the microstructure of which was described in detail in Part I, was investigated by in situ deformation experiments in the high-voltage electron microscope at 1150°C. During the experiments those two domain variants with their c-axes perpendicular to the [010] tensile direction were transformed into the third one with its c-axis parallel to the tensile direction. The subsequent 'switching' of the domains inside the colonies proceeds much faster than the penetration of the transformation front into a neighboring colony. Therefore, the transformed region, exhibiting a unique tetragonal structure and containing residual defects, preferentially expands into the longitudinal directions of the colonies. The transformation of single domains proceeds instantaneously within the time resolution of the video tape recording.