On the toughening mechanisms of MoSi2 reinforced Si3N4 ceramics

The toughness increment occurring in Si3N4-based composites due to the addition of MoSi2 particles was compared to the predictions of theoretical models based on the combination of residual stresses and crack deflection toughening mechanisms. A direct application of theoretical models led to a substantial discrepancy between predicted and observed values. For this reason, the basic parameters of the theoretical models were experimentally evaluated. The residual stresses were assessed by measuring the strain in the reinforcing particles by X-ray diffraction. Moreover, the MoSi2 interparticle distance was calculated by image analysis and the crack paths were analyzed in order to check the actual extent of crack deflection. The overall toughness increase recalculated as the sum of the newly estimated values of residual stresses and crack deflection contributions, was shown to be in good agreement with the experimental results.