Mechanical behavior of ferroelastic LaAlO3

The present study investigates the mechanical deformation response of lanthanum aluminate (LaAlO3) under various loading rates and temperatures. Ferroelastic domains were observed in samples of different porosity. Uniaxial compression tests were performed at room temperature and different loading rates ranging from 0.03 to 5.75 MPa/s. Temperature variation experiments were performed at 93 K, 193 K, 293 K, 393 K, and 553 K. LaAlO3 shows non-elastic stress-strain behavior in which hysteresis loops are observed during loading-unloading cycles owing to ferroelasticity. The slope of the stress-strain curve became steeper with increasing loading rate and temperature. After unloading, remnant strain was stored in the material owing to ferroelastic domain switching.