Self-healing behavior and strength recovery of ytterbium disilicate ceramic reinforced with silicon carbide nanofillers. Issue 10 (August 2019) - Nguyen, Son Thanh
Abstract: Environmental barrier coatings (EBCs) are necessary to protect SiC/SiC ceramic components against oxidation and hot corrosion in high-temperature applications. The volatilization of SiO2 in SiC-reinforced materials is a major obstacle for the implementation of these self-crack-healing ceramics. The Yb2 Si2 O7 -Yb2 SiO5 -SiC composite is known as a self-healing material that can help to avoid this SiC recession. In this research, the crack-healing behavior of this composite is investigated by using pre-cracking followed by annealing in an oxidizing environment. The crack-healing mechanism is explored and elucidated as a function of the filler morphology, crack size, annealing time, and annealing temperature. The two main crack-healing mechanisms are the filling of cracks with SiO2 glass and the volume expansion of Yb2 Si2 O7 induced by the reaction between SiO2 and Yb2 SiO5 . Full crack recovery is achieved with only 10 vol% SiC, with evidence from XRD and EDS analyses. SiC nanoparticulates are more efficient fillers than nanofibers and nanowhiskers.