High-temperature deformation of α-SiAlON nanoceramics without additives

A Ca-α SiAlON nanoceramic was fabricated from Ca0.8Si9.6Al2.4O0.8N15.2 nanopowder without using any sintering additive. The flow stress of the SiAlON nanoceramic, which contained almost no glass phase, was higher than that of liquid phase sintered SiAlONs containing a large amount of glass phase. The deformation was characterized by Newtonian flow in a wide range of stresses, and shear-thickening creep, which has been reported in liquid containing SiAlONs, was not observed.