Research progress on the transformation, fracture mechanism and properties of structural ceramics at cryogenic temperatures

Currently, the rapid development of cryogenic techniques makes them required for a wide range of applications such as aeronautics & astronautics, superconducting fields, nuclear fusion and so on. Structural ceramics are promising cryogenic structural materials which are prior to some kinds of metals and polymer materials in some specific applications. The research history and progress of several classical types of structural ceramics at cryogenic temperatures are reviewed. The contents of the present paper include the transformation mechanism and properties of zirconia-based ceramics, alumina ceramics and basic mechanical properties and fracture mechanisms of Si₃N₄ and SiC ceramics at cryogenic temperatures.