Spark Plasma Sintering of ZrB2-Based Ceramic Reinforced with SiC Particles and Whiskers

Document Type : Original Articles

Authors

• Mehdi Shahedi Asl ¹
• Zohre Ahmadi ²

¹ Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Mohaghegh Ardabili, Ardabil, Iran.

² Member of Researchers Foundation of University of Mohaghegh Ardabili, Ardabil, Iran.

10.22067/ma.v31i1.74355

Abstract

Effects of silicon carbide as the reinforcement on densification and mechanical properties of zirconium diboride-based ultra-high temperature composites were studied. A monolithic ZrB₂ ceramic (as the baseline) and three ZrB₂-based composites reinforced with 25 vol% SiC in different morphologies (particulate, whisker and particulate/whisker mixture) were fabricated by spark plasma sintering route. The sintering process was conducted at 1900 °C for 7 min under 40 MPa. A relative density of ~96% was obtained for the ZrB₂ ceramic but the other composites approached their theoretical densities. The hardness and fracture toughness values of SiC reinforced samples were higher than those for the monolithic one. The simultaneous addition of SiC particulates/whiskers showed a synergistic effect on the enhancement of mechanical performance of composite.

Keywords

• Zirconium diboride
• Silicon carbide
• Morphology
• Densification
• Mechanical properties

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