Creep study on alumina and alumina/SWCNT nanocomposites

Alumina and alumina/SWCNT nanocomposites have been sintered by spark plasma sintering, obtaining relative densities higher than 99%. Microstuctural characterization revealed a grain microstructure in the submicron range, where alumina/SWCNT nanocomposites exhibited a good CNTs dispersion thought the ceramic matrix. Creep experiments performed in both materials showed a similar mechanical behavior, where the addition of CNTs seems to have a negligible effect on the strain rate, in contrast to results reported by other authors. Grain boundary sliding accommodated by lattice diffusion has been identified as the high temperature deformation mechanisms in both samples, alumina and alumina/SWCNT nanocomposites. We have discussed about the role of CNTs influence on the plasticity of these composites.