Evidence of Grain-Boundary-Sliding-Induced Cavitation in Ceramics under Compression

Detailed microscopy of two crept aluminas, one with (AD99) and one without (Lucalox) a grain boundary glassy phase, has been performed to determine the pertinent damage mechanisms during creep. Evidence is presented for a nucleation-controlled cavitation process where creep cavities nucleate primarily on two-grain facets, followed by cavity growth and coalescence to form grain-facet-sized cavities and microcracks. A variety of creep cavity morphologies were observed in Lucalox, including spheroidal and irregularly shaped cavities. The latter finding implies a strong influence of crystallographic orientation and the corresponding surface energy of the cavitated planes on the cavity shape. In contrast, classical spheroidal cavities were observed in AD99 due to the presence of a viscous phase along grain boundaries. Direct evidence for grain boundary sliding as the process driving force for cavitation in Lucalox is presented together with evidence for the nucleation of creep cavities at grain boundary ledges. These findings are compared to the grain boundary sliding (GBS) and small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) measurements performed previously on the same systems. Based on this study, the cavity nucleation process in the glassy-phase- and non-glassy-phase-containing aluminas is apparently similar as both involve the nucleation of rows of equally sized and equally spaced cavities.