Seeding of the Reaction-Bonded Aluminum Oxide Process |
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Authors: | Ender Suvaci Gary L Messing |
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Affiliation: | Materials Research Laboratory, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802 |
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Abstract: | The effect of the initial α-Al2O3 particle size in the reaction-bonded aluminum oxide (RBAO) process on the phase transformation of aluminum-derived γ-Al2O3 to α-Al2O3, and subsequently densification, was investigated. It has been demonstrated that if the initial α-Al2O3 particles are fine (~0.2 μm, i.e., 2.9 × 1014γ-Al2O3 particles/cm3), then they seed the phase transformation. The fine α-Al2O3 decreases the transformation temperature to ~962°C and results in a finer microstructure. The smaller particle size of the seeded RBAO decreases the sintering temperature to as low as ~1135°C. The results confirm that seeding can be utilized to improve phase transformations and densification and subsequently to tailor final microstructures in RBAO-derived ceramics. |
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Keywords: | seeding reaction bonding aluminum oxide |
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