Superplastic Forging for Sialon-based Nanocomposite at Ultralow Temperature in the Electric Field

The utralow-temperature superplastic forging for sialon-based nanocomposites is reported for the first time. Sialon-based nanocomposites, with an average grain size smaller than 50 nm and 98.5% relative density, were prepared with nano-sized row powders by the spark plasma sintering (SPS) technique at a record ultralow sintering temperature of 1150 °C. An excellent gear is forged at the ultralow deformation temperature of 1200 °C with nanosized grains without any cracking. The maximum strain rate achieved is over 10^-1 s^-1, and a compression strain is more than 0.9. The practical application for superplastic forming of nitrogen ceramics is much more difficult than that for oxide ceramics because of the high deformation temperature and low strain rates. The present findings present a bright prospect for the near-net-shape superplastic forming of nitrogen ceramics.