High-temperature elastic properties of in situ-reinforced Si3N4

A high-temperature tensile stress study of a monolithic silicon nitride (Si3N4) was performed with time-of-flight neutron diffraction. A dedicated engineering diffractometer was employed at temperatures reaching 1375 °C. Rietveld refinements of diffraction spectra allowed the determination of (1) the coefficient of thermal expansion tensor during heating and (2) lattice strains during loading. The stress–strain response of individual lattice reflections was used to calculate the single-crystal elastic stiffness tensor of Si3N4 at 1375 °C via a self-consistent model.