Fabrication of Mullite Body Using Superplastic Transient Phase

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Abstract
Mullite, an extremely creep‐resistant ceramic, has been fabricated using a novel processing/forming approach taking advantage of superplastic transitional phases. Starting with a mixture of alumina, silica, and a small amount of lithia additive (0.8 wt%), a processing window of about 50°C around 1350°C has been found within which the material can be densified and superplastically deformed with negligible mullitization. The lithia additive promotes a transient lithium aluminosilicate glassy phase that greatly enhances sintering and deformation. The superplastic premullite maintains a nearly constant grain size during deformation between 1250° and 1400°C, over a strain rate from 6 × 10−7 to 10−1 s−1, and has unusually high activation energy values in the range of 1150 to 2086 kJ/mol. An increase in the transient glassy phase content due to the increased matrix dissolution at higher temperatures contributes in part to this anomaly. The mullite work pieces thus shaped become creep resistant again after a postforming annealing/mullitization treatment which decreases the creep rate by 6 orders of magnitude. The mechanical properties (hardness, toughness, and strength) of the finished mullite are compared to those of conventionally processed mullite.

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