Effect of Microstructure on Material-Removal Mechanisms and Damage Tolerance in Abrasive Machining of Silicon Carbide

Effects of microstructural heterogeneity on material-removal mechanisms and damage-formation processes in the abrasive machining of silicon carbide are investigated. It is shown that the process of material removal in a conventional silicon carbide material with equiaxed-grain micro-structure and strong grain boundaries consists of the formation and propagation of transgranular cracks which results in macroscopic chipping. However, in a silicon carbide material, containing 20 vol% yttrium aluminum garnet (YAG) second phase, with elongated-grain micro-structure and weak grain boundaries, intergranular micro-cracks are formed at the interphase boundaries, leading to dislodgment of individual grains. These different mechanisms of material-removal affect the nature of machining-induced damage. While in the conventional silicon carbide material the machining damage consists of transgranular median/radial cracks, in the heterogeneous silicon carbide material, abrasive machining produces interfacial micro-cracks distributed within a thin surface layer. These two distinct types of machining damage result in a different strength response in the two forms of silicon carbide materials. In the case of the conventional silicon carbide, grinding damage results in a dramatic decrease in strength relative to the as-polished specimens. In contrast, the ground heterogeneous silicon carbide specimens show no strength loss at all.