Article ID Journal Published Year Pages File Type
1685363 Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section B: Beam Interactions with Materials and Atoms 2009 5 Pages PDF
Abstract
The effect of low-energy high-current electron beams (LEHCEBs) at E = 15 keV on mechanical characteristics of near-surface layers of alumina-zirconium ceramics (AZC) of the 20Al2O3-80ZrO2(Y) composition (in mass %) is investigated by the method of dynamic indentation. It is shown that electron-beam treatment reduces Young's modulus and nanohardness of this ceramic material. The action of LEHCEBs on the structural-phase state of modified subsurface layers of AZC specimens is analyzed. Their elemental and phase compositions are examined using several techniques: electron-probe X-ray spectral microanalysis (EPMA), secondary-ion mass spectrometry (SIMS), and X-ray diffractometry. It is found out that irradiation of the ceramic material by LEHCEBs stimulates the transitions of an m-phase of zirconium dioxide into a tetragonal modification, and results in a considerable decrease in the alumina phase. Based on the analysis of the data obtained, a conclusion is drawn that it is the processes resulting from irradiation and giving rise to formation of a subsurface layer with a phase composition different from that of the bulk material, which are responsible for the effect of modification of the material mechanical property.
Related Topics
Physical Sciences and Engineering Materials Science Surfaces, Coatings and Films
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