Indentation fracture toughness of neutron irradiated silicon carbide

The indentation fracture toughness and other mechanical properties (elastic modulus and hardness) of high-purity stoichiometric chemical vapor deposition processed-SiC under neutron irradiation in a dose range of 10(24)-10(25) n/m(2) (E-n > 0.1 MeV) at the temperature range of 80-1150 degreesC were investigated. Indentation fracture toughness decreased slightly at the temperatures below 400 degreesC; and increased above 400 degreesC, for example, from 5.08 MPa m(-1/2) (non-irradiated) to 6.52 MPa m(-1/2) (800 degreesC neutron irradiated). Mechanical properties investigated-in this study were significantly dependent on the irradiation temperature up to 1150 degreesC, while generally independent on the irradiation dose up to 7.7 dpa signifying low-dose saturation. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.