In Situ Transmission Electron Microscopy for Ultrahigh Temperature Mechanical Testing of ZrO2

Author(s)

Grosso, Robson L. ^{[1, 2, 3]} ; Muccillo, Eliana N. S. ^[3] ; Muche, Dereck N. F. ^[2] ; Jawaharram, Gowtham S. ^[1] ; Barr, Christopher M. ^[4] ; Monterrosa, Anthony M. ^[4] ; Castro, Ricardo H. R. ^[2] ; Hattar, Khalid ^[4] ; Dillon, Shen J. ^[1]

Affiliation

^[1] Univ Illinois, Urbana, IL 61801 - USA

^[2] Univ Calif Davis, Davis, CA 95616 - USA

^[3] Energy & Nucl Res Inst IPEN, Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[4] Sandia Natl Labs, POB 5800, Albuquerque, NM 87185 - USA

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: Nano Letters; v. 20, n. 2, p. 1041-1046, FEB 2020.
• Web of Science Citations: 0

Abstract

This work demonstrates a novel approach to ultrahigh-temperature mechanical testing using a combination of in situ nanomechanical testing and localized laser heating. The methodology is applied to characterizing and testing initially nanograined 10 mol % Sc2O3-stabilized ZrO2 up to its melting temperature. The results suggest that the low-temperature strength of nanograined, d < 50 nm, oxides is not influenced by creep. Tensile fracture of ZrO2 bicrystals produce a weak-temperature dependence suggesting that grain boundary energy dominates brittle fracture of grain boundaries even at high homologous temperatures; for example, T = 2050 degrees C or T approximate to 77% T-melt. The maximum temperature for mechanical testing in this work is primarily limited by the instability of the sample, due to evaporation or melting, enabling a host of new opportunities for testing materials in the ultrahigh-temperature regime. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 16/06205-1 - Characterization of nanostructured scandia-zirconia ceramics consolidated by spark plasma sintering.
• Grantee: Robson Lopes Grosso
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• FAPESP's process: 17/25501-3 - Grain size dependent phase transition and Hall-Petch relationship in nanocrystalline Scandia-Zirconia: an in-situ TEM study
• Grantee: Robson Lopes Grosso
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Post-doctor