Published online by Cambridge University Press: 25 February 2011
²-Si3N4 matrix composites reinforced with nano-meter scale SiC particles were fabricated by hot-pressing the mixture of SiC and Si3N4 fine powders. Interface microstructure and crack propagation in the composite were observed by high resolution electron microscopy. The interface between SiC and Si3N4 had good coherence, but no preferred orientation was observed. At the interface between SiC and Si3N4, the (111) face of SiC particles was flat, and sometimes a disturbed lattice structure thinner than 1 nm was observed. Near the main cracks, the microcracking at fine SiC particles/Si3N4 matrix interface was frequently observed. The cracks propagated exactly along this interface. The interface microcracking seems to contribute to the improvement of fracture toughness.
To send this article to your Kindle, first ensure no-reply@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about sending to your Kindle. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.
Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.
Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.
To save this article to your Dropbox account, please select one or more formats and confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you used this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your Dropbox account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.
To save this article to your Google Drive account, please select one or more formats and confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you used this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your Google Drive account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.