Self-healing behavior and strength recovery of ytterbium disilicate ceramic reinforced with silicon carbide nanofillers

Environmental barrier coatings (EBCs) are necessary to protect SiC/SiC ceramic components against oxidation and hot corrosion in high-temperature applications. The volatilization of SiO2 in SiC-reinforced materials is a major obstacle for the implementation of these self-crack-healing ceramics. The Yb2Si2O7-Yb2SiO5-SiC composite is known as a self-healing material that can help to avoid this SiC recession. In this research, the crack-healing behavior of this composite is investigated by using pre-cracking followed by annealing in an oxidizing environment. The crack-healing mechanism is explored and elucidated as a function of the filler morphology, crack size, annealing time, and annealing temperature. The two main crack-healing mechanisms are the filling of cracks with SiO2 glass and the volume expansion of Yb2Si2O7 induced by the reaction between SiO2 and Yb2SiO5. Full crack recovery is achieved with only 10 vol% SiC, with evidence from XRD and EDS analyses. SiC nanoparticulates are more efficient fillers than nanofibers and nanowhiskers.