M.D. Magalhães; S. Kalácska; S. Comby-Dassonneville; T. Douillard; G. Huynh; H. Reveron; S. Meille; T.W. Cornelius; G. Kermouche; O. Thomas; J. Chevalier
Acta Materialia 301 (2025) 121553
This study examines for the first time phase transformation of single and oligo-crystalline tetragonal zirconia
micropillars under in-situ compression with Electron Back-Scattered Diffraction (EBSD). The tetragonal-to-
monoclinic (t-m) phase transformation in ceria-doped zirconia pillars is initiated when a critical stress
threshold is reached and propagates along individual grains with increasing stress. Grain boundaries, triple
junctions, and small processing-related pores, which lead to localized stress concentrations, facilitate the
transformation by lowering the effective applied critical stress. Our findings also align well with the predictions
of the crystallographic theory and extend observations from prior studies on single-crystal systems, thereby
providing a clearer understanding of the sequences of stress-induced phase transformation in oligo-crystalline
tetragonal zirconia.