Effect of Microstructure on High-Temperature Compressive Creep of Self-Reinforced Hot-Pressed Silicon Nitride

An experimental self-reinforced hot-pressed silicon nitride was used to examine the effects of microstructure on high-temperature deformation mechanisms during compression testing. At 1575–1625°C, the as-received material exhibited a stress exponent of 1 and appeared to deform by steady-state grain-boundary sliding accommodated by solution-reprecipitation of silicon nitride through the grain-boundary phase. The activation energy was 610 ± 110 kJ/mol. At 1450–1525°C for the as-received material, and at 1525–1600°C for the larger-grained heat-treated samples, the stress exponent was >1. Damage, primarily in the form of pockets of intergranular material at two-grain junctions, was observed in these samples.