EUROPEAN CONGRESS AND EXHIBITION ON ADVANCED MATERIALS AND PROCESSES - EUROMAT 2021

This study is shown as an example of the potential of synchrotron X-ray refraction technique to determine the evolution of damage in brittle (microcracked) materials. The strength of X-ray refraction resides in its high detectability of features (e.g., cracks, pores) within large volumes, enabling a macroscopic characterization of the microstructure. The case study is a Zirconia-based cast refractory, which is aimed to function at high temperatures (even in excess of 1700°C) in industrial furnaces to enable the production of special glasses. Therefore, this material must withstand severe in-service conditions (both thermomechanical and chemical). X-ray refraction technique is used to monitor the microcracking evolution of the material, which was previously subjected to thermal cycles (crossing the martensitic phase transformation around 1000°C) at two different stress levels.