Deformation of fine-grained alumina by grain boundary sliding accommodated by slip

Creep data from over 40 different polycrystalline alumina materials are reviewed. Most of these studies have attempted to describe the creep data using models based on diffusional creep. In the present paper, however, it is concluded that the dominant deformation mechanism in creep of fine-grained alumina is grain boundary sliding (GBS) accommodated by slip. The slip accommodation process is related to the sequential steps of dislocation glide and climb. When the accommodation process for GBS is that of dislocation climb, the stress exponent is always 2. In this case, the activation energy for creep is either that for oxygen ion diffusion in the lattice or that for oxygen ion diffusion in the grain boundary. When the accommodation process for GBS is that of solute-drag dislocation glide, the stress exponent is 1. For this case, the activation energy is that for solute diffusion at the dislocation site during glide. (C) 2003 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.