Oxygen annealing effect on mechanical properties of Dy123 bulks melt-processed in air

Bending tests of the as-grown and the annealed specimens cut from Dy123 bulk samples were carried out. The Young’s modulus of the annealed specimen was lower than that of the as-grown specimen. On the other hand, the fracture strength of the annealed specimen was slightly higher than that of the as-grown specimen. The fracture toughness of the annealed specimen was also higher. The smaller bulk showed excellent mechanical properties in comparison with the larger bulk. The mechanical properties of these bulks are discussed in terms of the porosity and the mechanical properties of the matrix evaluated by Vickers indentation tests.