Specimen size effect on the creep of Si₃N₄

The effect of specimen size on the measured tensile creep behavior of a commercially available gas pressure sintered Si₃N₄ was examined. Button-head tensile test specimens were used for the testing, and were machined to a variety of different gage section diameters (ranging from 2.5 to 6.35 mm) or different surface-area-to-volume ratios. The specimens were then creep tested at 1350 °C and 200 MPa with tensile creep strain continuously measured as a function of time. The steady-state creep rate increased and the lifetime decreased with an increase in diameter (or decrease in the ratio of gage section surface area to volume). The time and specimen size dependence of transformation of a secondary phase correlated with the observed creep rate and lifetime dependence.