Mechanical Properties of Alumina/Silicon Carbide Whisker Composites

The improvement of mechanical properties of Al₂O₃/SiC whisker composites has been studied with emphasis on the effects of the whisker content and of the hot-pressing temperature. Mechanical properties such as fracture toughness and fracture strength increased with increasing whisker content up to 40 wt%. In the case of the high SiC whisker content of 40 wt%, fracture toughness of the sample hot-pressed at 1900° decreased significantly, in spite of densification, compared with one hot-pressed at 1850°. Fracture toughness strongly depended on the microstructure, especially the distribution of SiC whiskers rather than the grain size of the Al₂O₃ matrix.