Role of mechanical loads in inducing in-cycle tensile stress in thermally grown oxide

Experimental in situ synchrotron x-ray diffraction results tracking the strain behavior of the various layers during a cycle, under thermo-mechanical conditions are presented in this work. The quantitative strain measurements here show that the thermally grown oxide briefly experiences in-plane tensile stress (⁠$σ22=+36.4$ MPa) with increased mechanical loading during ramp-up in the thermal cycle. These findings are the first in situ experimental observations of these strains under thermo-mechanical conditions, envisaged to serve as a catalyst for crack initiation. The depth resolved measurements of strain taken during applied thermal and mechanical load in this work are a significant step towards achieving realistic testing conditions.