Abstract
ABSTRACTRaw β-Si3N4 powder was gas-pressure sintered with Y2 O3-Nd2O3additives at > 1700ºC. Graingrowth behavior was investigated in relation to sintering conditions. Selective growth of large grains was accomplished by sintering the powder at high temperatures with small amounts of additives. As a result, in-situ composites were obtained from β-powder.The desired material properties have been attained by controlling the microstructural design using large grains. Materials with high reliability, having a Weibull modulus of about 50, were fabricated by maintaining a uniform size and distribution of elongated grains. Tough materials, having fracture toughness of, were developed by increasing the diameter of elongated grains. This method was applied to the sintering of refractory grade powder with the aim of lowering sintered material cost. Fairly good mechanical properties have been obtained even with impure powders.
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