FORMING TEXTURED MICROSTRUCTURES VIA THE GELCASTING TECHNIQUE

Crystallographically textured samples of iron titanate were produced b y gelcasting in the presence of a strong magnetic field. Texture was a ssessed by measuring X-ray pole figures on samples that were cast in d ifferent orientations relative to the applied field. Specimens in this study exhibit fiber-type texture, with the b-axes aligned parallel to the applied field. Peak texture strengths were on the order of 3 and 48 multiples of a random distribution (MRD) when processed in a 3.2 an d 8.4 T magnetic field, respectively. This study shows that a combinat ion of gelcasting with magnetic-field-assisted processing provides a c onvenient method for fabricating samples which can be used to study th e role of crystallographic texture on the physical properties of polyc rystalline ceramics, e.g., their elastic or fracture behavior.