Plastic flow and fracture of amorphous intercrystalline layers in ceramic nanocomposites

A theoretical model has been proposed for describing the plastic flow and fracture of amorphous intercrystalline layers in ceramic nanocomposites. The mechanism of plastic deformation has been considered as homogeneous nucleation and growth of liquidlike phase inclusions subjected to plastic shear. It has been demonstrated using a nanoceramic material consisting of TiN nanocrystallites and Si3N4 amorphous layers as an example that, when the length of the amorphous layer is reached and a considerable dislocation charge is accumulated, these inclusions induce the formation and growth of Mode I–II cracks in neighboring amorphous layers. In this case, the possibility of opening and growing the crack depends very strongly on the test temperature, the layer orientation, and the size of nanoceramic grains. An increase in the temperature and the angle of orientation and a decrease in the size of nanoceramic grains favor an increase in the crack resistance.