High temperature mechanical spectroscopy and creep of calcium hexaluminate

Samples of calcium hexaluminate (CA(6)) were studied by four-point bending creep tests and mechanical spectroscopy at temperatures between 1300 and 1600 K. By using the temperature-compensated time concept, proposed by Dorn (1954, 1956), activation enthalpies of the order of 620 kJ/mol were deduced from both the isothermal creep and the internal friction measurements. A generic curve, "master curve", is obtained by a superposition of the isothermal mechanical loss spectrum along the temperature-compensated frequency axis. The master curve is composed of two components: a high-frequency part (peak) and a low-frequency part (exponential background). Both the peak and the background decrease after performing torsional creep. Additionally, the peak shifts towards higher frequency after annealing. The high temperature mechanical loss behavior of CA(6) is discussed in terms of a dislocation model invoking anelastic and viscoplastic relaxation phenomena. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.