BCT /337 added. It remains necessary, however, to determine whether the increase in observed plastic deformation in these T he authors are in the Manchester Materials Scimaterials is due to an improvement in mechanical properties ence Centre, University of Manchester and UMIST , due to a 'nanocomposite effect' such as grain boundary Grosvenor Street, Manchester, M1 7HS, UK. Presstrengthening, or whether the result is simply due to the ented at the Ceramics Industry Division Annual difference in grain size, which diminishes with increasing Convention held at the Royal Agricultural College,

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The surface residual stress state induced by grinding and polishing an alumina/silicon carbide nanocomposite and monolithic alumina has been investigated using Hertzian indentation and fluorescence spectroscopy. Specimens were ground and then polished with diamond slurry with grit sizes ranging between 8 μm and 1 μm. The results show that the surface residual stress state in the nanocomposites is more sensitive to surface treatment than that in the monolithic alumina. Surfaces of both ceramics were examined in cross-section by TEM and direct observations were made of the plastic deformation induced by different surface treatments. There is a change in the predominant deformation micromechanism from twinning in the alumina to dislocation generation in the nanocomposites.

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