Evaluation of the self-healing capacity of ceramics produced with alumina and silicon carbide

Abstract

The self-healing capacity of a ceramic material produced by uniaxial pressing with alumina (Al 2 O 3 ), silicon carbide (SiC), and magnesium oxide (MgO) was evaluated. To assess self-healing, a discontinuity was generated on the surface of the specimens. The healing time in the oven, at a temperature of 1000 ºC, was 1, 30, and 60 min. The specimens were analyzed by physical and mechanical tests. The results showed that, for the mixture containing 15% SiC, the specimens healed at 60 min had an increase in flexural strength of 84.9% when compared to the specimens that were only indented while for the specimens containing 20% SiC, this increase was 61.1% at 30 min. For the 30 min healing time, there was a reduction in the size of the discontinuity in the specimens by about 19.1% and 14.8%, for the formulation containing 15% and 20% of SiC, respectively.