High Temperature Materials Iaboratory, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TennesseeThe strength of a commercially available hot isostatically pressed silicon nitride was measured as a function of temperature. To evaluate long-term mechanical reliability of this material, the tensile creep and fatigue behavior was measured at 1150", 1260", and 1370°C. The stress and temperature sensitivities of the secondary (or minimum) creep strain rate were used to estimate the stress exponent and activation energy associated with the dominant creep mechanism. The fatigue characteristics were evaluated by allowing individual creep tests to continue until specimen failure. The applicability of the four-point load geometry to the study of strength and creep behavior was also determined by conducting a limited number of flexural creep tests. The tensile fatigue data revealed two distinct failure mechanisms. At 1150"C, failure was controlled by a slow crack growth mechanism. At 1260" and 1370"C, the accumulation of creep damage in the form of grain boundary cavities and cracks dominated the fatigue behavior. In this temperature regime, the fatigue life was controlled by the secondary (or minimum) creep strain rate in accordance with the Monkman-Grant relation.

Measurements of the tensile creep and creep rupture behavior were used to evaluate the long-term mechanical reliability of a commercially available and a developmental hot isostatically pressed (HIPed) silicon nitride. Measurements were conducted at 1260" and 1370°C utilizing button-head tensile specimens. The stress and temperature sensitivities of the secondary creep rates were used to estimate the stress exponent and activation energy associated with the dominant creep mechanism. The stress and temperature dependencies of creep rupture life were determined by continuing individual creep tests to specimen failure. Creep deformation in both materials was associated with cavitation at multigrain junctions. Two-grain cavitation was also observed in the commercial material. Failure in both materials resulted from the evolution of an extensive damage zone. The failure times were uniquely related to the creep rates, suggesting that the zone growth was constrained by the bulk creep response. The fact that the creep and creep rupture behaviors of the developmental silicon nitride were significantly improved compared to those of the commercial material was attributed to the absence of cavitation along two-grain junctions in the developmental material.

The fracture resistance of a fully dense, transparent, polycrystalline magnesium aluminate spinel was measured from room temperature to 1400°C using the chevron-notched beam and the straight-notched beam macroflaw techniques, as well as the indentation-induced, controlled-microflaw test method, all in three-point bending. Flexural strengths were also measured for the same range of temperatures to compare with the fracture toughness measurements. From the load vs load-line displacement (P-u) curves of the chevronnotched test specimens, the crack growth resistance curves (R-curves) and the total work-of-fracture were determined. It was observed that polycrystalline MgAI2O4 exhibits rising R-curve behavior which increases with increasing test temperature. The R-curve increases are attributed to the geometric constraints due to grain bridging and grain wedging phenomena as well as secondary grain boundary microcracking processes, all of which occurred in the wake region behind the advancing crack. The work-of-fracture and the R-curves increased rapidly above 800°C coincident with the onset of increased secondary grain boundary microcracking.

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BackgroundEndothelial MAdCAM-1 (mucosal addressin cell adhesion molecule-1) expression is associated with the oxidant-dependent induction and progress of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Melatonin, a relatively safe, potent antioxidant, has shown efficacy in several chronic injury models may limit MAdCAM-1 expression and therefore have a therapeutic use in IBD.MethodsWe examined how different doses of melatonin reduced endothelial MAdCAM-1 induced by TNF-a in an in vitro model of lymphatic endothelium. Endothelial monolayers were pretreated with melatonin prior to, and during an exposure, to TNF-a (1 ng/ml, 24 h), and MAdCAM-1 expression measured by immunoblotting.ResultsMAdCAM-1 was induced by TNF-a. Melatonin at concentrations over 100 μm (10-4 M) significantly attenuated MAdCAM-1 expression and was maximal at 1 mM.ConclusionsOur data indicate that melatonin may exert therapeutic activity in IBD through its ability to inhibit NF-kB dependent induction of MAdCAM-1.

In Part 1 of this paper, experimental observations on creep testing of 74 tensile specimens of an advanced silicon nitride were presented. In this part, equations are developed for predicting creep rates in the primary and secondary regimes in the temperature range 1477-1673 K. The resulting model predicts creep strain rates to within a factor of two. The underlying phenomenological basis, which employs an activation energy approach, is discussed. The mechanisms that are likely to be responsible for the transiency of the primary creep regime and for the unique stress and temperature dependencies of the creep rates are explored.

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The fracture toughness of a dense, sintered commercial α‐silicon carbide was determined for temperatures from 20° to 1400°C using both straight‐ and chevron‐notched test specimens and also controlled‐surface‐microflaw specimens, all in three‐point bending. The flexural strengths were also measured for the same range of temperatures and the trend is compared with that of the toughness. Measurements from this study are discussed and also compared with other results in the literature. Analysis reveals the importance of contrasting sharp crack and blunt crack techniques and also the need for addressing the microhardness indentation method separately. It is concluded that the fracture toughness of this silicon carbide is about 3 MPa · m½ and that the crack growth resistance is characterized by a flat R‐curve behavior, both of which are independent of temperature from 20° to 1400°C.