Published online by Cambridge University Press: 15 February 2011
Bend strength, compression strength, and fracture toughness of niobium beryllide intermetallic compounds have been assessed at temperatures from ambient to 1200°C. Hot-isostatically-pressed (HIP) Be12Nb showed significantly improved lowand high-temperature mechanical properties over vacuum-hot-pressed (VHP) material. Strengths at 20°C were 250 MPa in bending and 2750 MPa in compression with a fracture toughness of ∼4 Mpa√m, much higher than previously measured for this compound. High-temperature (≥ 1000°C) mechanical properties were also improved with bend strengths of 250 MPa at 1200°C as compared to only 70 to 100 MPa for the VHP material. However, severe pest embrittlement was detected in the HIP material at temperatures between 650 and 1000°C.