| Abstract Scope |
The mechanical response and failure of metal-oxide phase boundaries influence the performance of a variety of engineering systems. For example, spalling of environmental barriers affects the lifetime of refractory alloy turbine blades. Similarly, high temperature mechanical interactions between oxide nuclear fuels and metallic fuel cladding can influence the lifetime of fuel rods. The behavior of such interfaces is challenging to predict theoretically, and little experimental data exists to describe their properties. In this work, a series of metal-oxide bicrystal interfaces were loaded in tension to determine the criteria for interfacial failure in the regime where interfacial diffusion is facile. The experiments provide insights into interactions between the sintering stress, damage accumulation, and the failure stress. |