Radiation damage effects in superplastic 3Y-TZP irradiated with Zr ions

Motohashi, Yoshinobu*; Kobayashi, Tomokazu*; Harjo, S.*; Sakuma, Takaaki*; Shibata, Taiju ; Ishihara, Masahiro ; Baba, Shinichi; Hoshiya, Taiji

The 3mol% yttria containing tetragonal zirconia polycrystals(3Y-TZP) were irradiated using 130MeV Zr ions in the TANDEM accelerator facility at Tokai Research Establishment, JAERI. Irradiation was performed with the fluence of 3.510 and 2.110 ions/m. Residual stress and changes in mechanical properties caused by the ion irradiation and the effects of the subsequent annealing are studied. The occurrence of compressive residual stresses and increases in hardness and fracture toughness were found at the surface regions of as-irradiated specimens. It was found from the subsequent annealing that these quantities decreased gradually with raising the annealing temperature and returned to that of un-irradiated state at around 1173K. A most probable cause of the increases in the hardness and fracture toughness after the irradiation may, therefore, be the residual compressive stresses left in the irradiated surface region.