SiC含量对反应烧结SiC-Si3N4复合材料性能的影响

以粒度均≤0.044mm的工业Si粉和α-SiC粉为原料,酚醛树脂为结合剂(占总粉末质量的6.5%),配成SiC含量(质量分数)分别为10%、30%、50%和70%的4组试样,经200MPa冷等静压成型后,在N2气氛中(压力为1.25MPa)于1395℃反应烧结制备了SiC-Si3N4复合材料,并采用SEM、XRD和EDS等测试手段对试样进行了观察和测试。结果表明:随着粉料中SiC含量的增加,烧后试样的体积密度下降,显气孔率提高,抗折强度降低,以SiC加入量为10%的试样性能最优;4组试样经800℃～室温空冷热震15次后的抗折强度保持率均在90%以上,表明材料具有良好的抗热震性能。     

Direct laser sintering of reaction bonded silicon carbide with low residual silicon content

Additive manufacturing (AM) techniques are promising manufacturing methods for the production of complex parts in small series. In this work, laser sintering (LS) was used to fabricate reaction bonded silicon carbide (RBSC) parts. First, silicon carbide (SiC) and silicon (Si) powders were mixed in order to obtain a homogeneous powder. This powder mixture was subsequently laser sintered, where the Si melts and re-solidifies to bind the primary SiC particles. Afterwards, these SiSiC preforms were impregnated with a phenolic resin. This phenolic resin was pyrolysed yielding porous carbon, which was transformed into secondary reaction formed SiC when the preforms were infiltrated with molten silicon in the final step. This resulted in fully dense RBSC parts with up to 84?vol% SiC. The optimized SiSiC combined a Vickers hardness of 2045?HV, an electrical conductivity of 5.3?×?10³?S/m, a Young's modulus of 285?GPa and a 4-point bending strength of 162?MPa.     

A novel approach to fabricate Si3N4 by selective laser melting

Difficulties in sintering refractory ceramics limit their potential high-demanding applications. Selective laser sintering/melting of ceramics is extremely challenging due to poor sinterability of refractories caused by a low thermal shock resistance and an insufficient electron conductivity blocking absorption of laser electron beam energy, etc. Here, we propose a new approach to fabricate Si₃N₄-based complex geometry parts by selective laser sintering. This is a two-step approach including (i) selective laser sintering of silicon powder providing a needed shape, and (ii) nitridation of the as-shaped silicon parts aimed at fabrication of the Si₃N₄ component. Parametric study of the process has been performed for optimization of the sintering parameters, such as laser current, point distance and exposure time. The silicon component of full Archimedes density, 12?GPa Vickers hardness and 432?MPa compressive strength has been produced by SLS technique. Effect of different catalysts (Ni-, Cr-, Co-based) on the nitridation of the shaped silicon parts has been thoroughly studied. The conversion degree of nitridation reaches 50% with Ni-based catalyst subjecting growth of Si₃N₄ nanofibers on the surface of the component.     

Sintered reaction-bonded silicon nitrides with high thermal conductivity: The effect of the starting Si powder and Si3N4 diluents

Silicon nitride ceramics with high thermal conductivity were fabricated by employing the reaction bonding method. It was revealed that the addition of Si₃N₄ diluents affected both the nitriding reaction and the post-sintering behavior by changing the size of the silicon particle during the milling process. The reduced size of silicon particle led to an increased degree of nitridation. Further, narrower pore channels in the nitrided bodies caused by the reduced size of silicon particle enhanced the final density, by promoting the easier elimination of finer pores during post-sintering. The positive effect of the finer silicon particle was confirmed by a back-up experiment employing a variety of silicon particle sizes, produced by milling the raw silicon powder for different milling times. Thermal conductivity was dominated by material density rather than variation of the microstructure or oxygen content in the current research.     

Laser additive manufacturing and homogeneous densification of complicated shape SiC ceramic parts

To improve the density of SiC ceramic components with complicated shape built by laser sintering (LS), cold isostatic pressing (CIP) and reaction sintering (RS) were incorporated into the process. In the process of LS/CIP/RS, Phenol formaldehyde resin (PF)-SiC composite powder was prepared by mechanical mixing and cold coating methods, with an optimized content of PF at 18?wt%. For the purpose of obtaining improved density of the sintered body after final reaction sintering, carbon black was added into the initial mixed powder. The material preparation, LS forming and densification steps were optimized throughout the whole fabrication process. The final sintered SiC bodies with the bending strength of 292 ~ 348?MPa and the density of 2.94–2.98?g?cm^{? 3} were prepared using the PF coated SiC-C composite powder and the LS / CIP / RS process. The study further showed a positive and practical approach to fabricate SiC ceramic parts with complicated shape using additive manufacturing technology.     

逆反应烧结制备铝电解槽用氮化硅-碳化硅复合材料

采用常规的反应烧结工艺制作铝电解槽侧壁材料用Si3N4／SiC时存在不足，为此，提出应用逆反应烧结工艺进行生产性试验的设想。在制备Si3N4／SiC复合材料时，常规反应烧结是以Si和SiC为原料经氮化烧结；逆反应烧结是以Si3N4和SiC为原料，首先使Si3N4反向反应生成活性氧化物后进行烧结。结果表明：该工艺特点是新生的Si2N2O或SiO2进行活性烧结；制品具有良好的物理和化学性能。制品结构紧密，新生氧化物或亚氧化物紧密地充填在Si3N4和SiC颗粒间界，新工艺制备的砖的抗冰晶石熔体侵蚀的性能优于常规工艺烧成砖，是铝电解槽侧壁的良好材料。     

Additively manufactured mesostructured MoSi2-Si3N4 ceramic lattice

Lattice structures, their shape, orientation, and density make the critical building blocks for macro-scale geometries during the AM process and, therefore, manipulation of the lattice structure extends to the overall quality of the final product. This work reports on manufacturing of MoSi₂-Si₃N₄ ceramic lattices through a selective laser melting (SLM) approach. The strategy first employs the production of core-shell structured MoSi₂/(10-13?wt%)Si composite powders of 3–10?μm particle size by combustion synthesis followed by SLM assembly of MoSi₂/Si lattices and their further nitridation to generate MoSi₂-Si₃N₄ mesostructures of designed geometry. Experimental results revealed that the volumetric energy density of SLM laser has remarkable influence on the cell parameters, strength, porosity and density of lattices. Under compressive test, samples sintered at a higher laser current demonstrated a higher strength value. Selective laser melting has shown its potential for production of cellular lattice mesostructures of ceramic-based composites with a low content of a binder metal, which can be subsequently converted into a ceramic phase to produce ceramic-ceramic structure.     

空气气氛中烧成Si3N4-SiC复合材料的性能、相组成和显微结构

以氮化硅细粉(粒度＜0.088 mm,w(β-Si3N4)＞95%)、碳化硅(w(SiC)＞98%,粒度分别为2.8～0.9mm、0.9～0.15 mm、＜0.115 mm和＜0.063 mm四级)、硅粉(粒度＜0.045 mm,w(Si)＞98%)和硅灰(w(SiO2)=98.3%)为原料,以木质素磺酸钙水溶液作成型结合剂,采用150 MPa的压力成型为65 mm×114 mm×230mm的Si3N4-SiC、Si3N4-SiC-Si和Si3N4-SiC-SiO2三种试样.在空气气氛中,以50℃·h-1的升温速度升至800℃保温4 h,再升至1450℃保温2 h,自然冷却至室温后,测定烧成后试样的常温耐压强度、常温抗折强度、1400℃下的高温抗折强度、显气孔率、体积密度和残氮率,并采用XRD、SEM和EPMA等手段分析烧后试样的相组成和显微结构.结果表明3种试样在空气气氛中烧成后的高温(1400℃)和常温抗折强度都比较高,显气孔率都比较低,而耐压强度则以Si3N4-SiC试样的最高;烧成后试样中心区域的残氮率以Si3N4-SiC-Si试样的最高,Si3N4-SiC-SiO2试样的次之,Si3N4-SiC试样的最小;在空气气氛中烧成后,Si3N4-SiC试样中的Si3N4分解较多,SiC-Si3 N4-Si试样的表面和内部都明显含有单质Si,SiC-Si3N4-SiO2试样表面区域的Si2N2O晶体发育很好,而内部区域的晶体发育较小.     

Si3N4／纳米SiC复相陶瓷的研究

采用纳米ＳｉＣ粉体制备了Ｓｉ３Ｎ４／纳米ＳｉＣｐ复相陶瓷。研究了制备工艺、纳米ＳｉＣ含量对材料性能及显微结构的影响,并对材料显微结构特点与强韧化机制进行了分析 。结果表明：添加２０ｖｏ％〈１００ｎｍ的ＳｉＣ粉体时,复相陶瓷的室温抗弯强度达８５６ＭＰａ,当添加１０ｖｏ％上述ＳｉＣ粉体时,复相陶瓷的增韧效果最佳,断裂韧性达８．２７ＭＰａｍ＾１／２,比基体材料提高了２３％。     

TiC／Si3N4导电陶瓷复合材料的制备

通过气压烧结工艺制备了含１,５,２０,２５,３５ｗｔ％ＴｉＣ的Ｓｉ３Ｎ４陶瓷复合材料研究了其导电特性,该复合材料由充当绝缘体的Ｓｉ３Ｎ４和作为导电添加剂的ＴｉＣ组成,其电阻率主要取决于其中的ＴｉＣ含量。复合材料的渗流阈值ＶＣ为１６．４５－１８．５０ｖｏｌ％,当ＴｉＣ含量达到或超过该阈值时复合材料中就形成导电通路,电阻率迅速降低。     

Combination of direct ink writing and reaction bonded for rapid fabrication of SiCw/SiC composites

Silicon carbide ceramic matrix composites are widely used in aerospace field due to their advantages of high temperature resistance, high strength and corrosion resistance. However, its application is greatly limited because of the difficulty in preparing complex shape structures by traditional machining methods. Here, a new strategy for preparing SiC_w/SiC complex structure by combining direct ink writing with reaction bonding is proposed. A water-based slurry consisting of silicon carbide, carbon powder and silicon carbide whisker was developed. The influence laws of C content and SiC_w content in slurry on sintering properties of direct-written samples were studied. The reaction bonding mechanism and whisker reinforcing and toughening mechanism were analyzed by means of microstructure and phase composition. The results show that the slurry exhibits shear thinning behavior with stress yield point, and its flow behavior and plasticity meet the requirements of direct writing. When the carbon content is 6.4 wt%, the maximum flexural strength is 239.3 MPa. When 15 wt% SiC_w was added, the flexural strength of the composite reached 301.6 MPa, and when 20 wt% SiC_w was added, the fracture toughness of the composite reached 4.02 MPa m^1/2, which was increased by 26% and 18% compared with single-phase SiC, respectively. The reinforcing and toughening mechanisms of the whiskers mainly include whisker pullout, crack deflection and whisker bridging. After direct ink writing and reaction bonded, the whole process shows good near net forming ability. 3D printed SiC_w/SiC composites have great application prospects in aerospace field.     

Effect of technological parameters on densification of reaction bonded Si/SiC ceramics

Si/SiC composite ceramics was produced by reaction sintering method in process of molten silicon infiltration into porous C/SiC preform fabricated by powder injection molding followed by impregnation with phenolic resin and carbonization. To optimize the ceramics densification process, effect of slurry composition, debinding conditions and the key parameters of all technological stages on the Si/SiC composite characteristics was studied. At the stage of molding the value of solid loading 87.5% was achieved using bimodal SiC powder and paraffin-based binder. It was found that the optimal conditions of fast thermal debinding correspond to the heating rate of 10?°C/min in air. The porous C/SiC ceramic preform carbonized at 1200?°C contained 4% of pyrolytic carbon and ～25% of open pores. The bulk density of Si/SiC ceramics reached 3.04?g/cm³, silicon carbide content was 83–85?wt.% and residual porosity did not exceed 2%.     

逆反应烧结制备碳化硅/氮化硅复合材料的工艺

制备Si3N4／SiC复合材料的常规反应烧结是以Si和SiC为原料进行氮化烧结,而逆反应烧结是以Si3N4和SiC为原料,首先使Si3N4反向反应为活性氧化物后再进行烧结。建立逆反应烧结工艺制备Si3N4／SiC复合材料的热力学基础。确定了Si3N4先于SiC氧化;氧化产物可以是SiO2,也可以是Si2N2O;形成的SiO2氧化膜不会与基体材料反应;在膜与基体之间可能生成Si2N2O。论证了逆反应烧结的热力学可行性。通过6个烧结实验,证实了其热力学分析的正确性,并从工艺参数与密度变化、残氮率和比强度等关系筛选出最佳的烧结工艺参数。     

Sintering Manufacture Process Research on Special Ceramics Fe—Si3N4 Bonded SiC

By the method of TG-DSC (thermo gravimetric analysis-differential scanning calorimeter), the chemical reactions of Fe-Si3N4 bonded SiC during the sintering process in nitriding furnace have been studied. Analyses have been conducted on the reason of disintegration of specimens when ferro-silicon was added greater than 15% and on the method to reduce damage. The result indicated that there are mainly three important reactions occurred during the nitriding process of samples, they are: the oxidation of carbon, the melting of ferro-silicon and the nitriding of feero-silicon. Controlling the balance of partial pressure of N2 and slowing down the rate of temperature rising can reduce the disintegration of samples.     

Single-source-precursor synthesis and high-temperature evolution of a boron-containing SiC/HfC ceramic nano/micro composite

A boron-containing SiHfC(N,O) amorphous ceramic was synthesized upon pyrolysis of a single-source-precursor at 1000 °C in Ar atmosphere. The high-temperature microstructural evolution of the ceramic at high temperatures was studied using X-ray powder diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The results show that the ceramic consists of an SiHfC(N,O)-based amorphous matrix and finely dispersed sp²-hybridized boron-containing carbon (i.e. B_yC). High temperature annealing of B_yC/SiHfC(N,O) leads to the precipitation of HfC_xN_1-x nanoparticles as well as to β-SiC crystallization. After annealing at temperatures beyond 1900 °C, HfB₂ formation was observed. The incorporation of boron into SiHfC(N,O) leads to an increase of its sintering activity, consequently providing dense materials possessing improved mechanical properties as compared to those of boron-free SiC/HfC. Thus, hardness and elastic modulus values up to 25.7 ± 5.3 and 344.7 ± 43.0 GPa, respectively, were measured for the dense monolithic SiC/HfC_xN_1-x/HfB₂/C ceramic nano/micro composite.     

Concurrent reaction-bonded joining and densification of additively manufactured silicon carbide by liquid silicon infiltration

In this study, additive-manufactured silicon carbide preforms were joined and densified by reaction bonding via liquid silicon infiltration. The silicon carbide preforms were first printed by binder jetting additive manufacturing. To demonstrate concurrent joining and densification, two preforms with carbon or parchment papers at the interface were concurrently joined and infiltrated by liquid silicon. Results showed a robust interface with thicknesses ranging from 150 to 500 µm, depending on the paper type and the number of paper layers. High-energy synchrotron X-ray revealed that β-phase silicon carbide was formed inside the interface. Finally, two additively manufactured samples with complicated channel geometry were successfully joined. Energy dispersive spectroscopy of the interface of the channeled samples showed a consistent and robust joining. This concurrent approach of joining and densification enables efficiency improvement of fabricating silicon carbide parts with complicated geometries and widens geometry freedom for additive manufacturing of silicon carbide.     

氧化烧结Si3N4-SiC复合材料的性能研究

采用工业级SiC(0.043～1.1mm段砂)和10μm的Si3N4粉,按照SiC与Si3N4的质量比为90:10配料,在玛瑙研钵中混合均匀,然后加入PVA结合剂,采用20MPa压力压制成不同尺寸的试样,于110℃恒温干燥箱内干燥24h后,按照规定的烧成制度处理。对氧化气氛下烧结的Si3N4-SiC复合材料进行了常(高)温强度、抗氧化性能、抗热震性能、抗侵蚀性能的研究,并利用XRD和SEM对试样进行了物相和显微结构分析。结果表明:试样的高温(1400℃)强度略高于其常温强度;试样具有较好的抗氧化性,在1000℃氧化60h后,其面质量增加仅为0.32mg.cm-2;试样经1200℃空冷至20℃的强度保持率达75%,具有较好的抗热震性能;氧化烧结制备的Si3N4-SiC坩埚在1000℃空气中,经20h冰晶石熔体侵蚀处理后,坩埚内壁仅有少量侵蚀,具有较好的抗冰晶石熔体侵蚀性能;坩埚在空气中经1150℃20h铜熔体侵蚀处理后,受到严重侵蚀,但在埋炭条件下处理时,坩埚没有受到侵蚀。     

Effects of B4C addition on the microstructure and properties of porous alumina ceramics fabricated by direct selective laser sintering

Direct selective laser sintering (dSLS) is a promising method for the fabrication of complex-shaped ceramic parts. In this paper, boron carbide (B₄C) was used as an inorganic additive to improve the laser sintering behavior of alumina. The effects of B₄C addition on the microstructure and mechanical properties of porous alumina ceramics were investigated. Mixture of alumina powders and different amount of B₄C were directly sintered using different SLS parameters. Results indicated that the process window of alumina could be expanded by the addition of B₄C. Furthermore, the amount of B₄C played an important role in surface morphologies of alumina ceramics. It could be explained by the increase of mass transfer due to the addition of B₄C, which enhanced the densification process. The compressive strength of sintered samples increased with the increase of B₄C, which reached its maximum value when the content of B₄C was 7?wt% and the density of the samples after post treatment could reach 1.4?g/cm³. In addition, a size expansion phenomenon was observed. The size expansion could reach 5% after SLS, which could be attributed to the pin effects and oxidation behavior of B₄C particles.     

Improvement of toughness of reaction bonded silicon carbide composites reinforced by surface-modified SiC whiskers

To improve the reliability, especially the toughness, of the reaction bonded silicon carbide (RBSC) ceramics, silicon carbide whiskers coated with pyrolytic carbon layer (PyC-SiC_w) by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) were introduced into the RBSC ceramics to fabricate the SiC_w/RBSC composites in this study. The microstructures and properties of the PyC-SiC_w/RBSC composites under different mass fraction of nano carbon black and PyC-SiC_w were investigated methodically. As a result, a bending strength of 550 MPa was achieved for the composites with 25 wt% nano carbon black, and the residual silicon decreased to 11.01 vol% from 26.58 vol% compared with the composite of 15 vol% nano carbon black. The fracture toughness of the composites reinforced with 10 wt% PyC-SiC_w, reached a high value of 5.28 MPa m^1/2, which increased by 39% compared to the RBSC composites with 10 wt% SiC_w. The residual Si in the composites deceased below to 7 vol%, resulting from the combined actively reaction of nano carbon black and PyC with more Si. SEM and TEM results illustrated that the SiC_w were protected by PyC coating. A thin SiC layer formed of outer surface of whiskers can provide a suitable whisker-matrix interface, which is in favor of crack deflection, SiC_w bridging and pullout to improve the bending strength and toughness of the SiC_w/RBSC composites.     

Processing,characterization and properties of novel gradient Si3N4/SiC fibers derived from polycarbosilanes

In this work, we report a novel kind of Si₃N₄/SiC composite fibers, which exhibit a controlled gradient Si₃N₄(shell)/SiC(core) structure. These composite fibers are fabricated through a controlled nitridation and pyrolysis process on electron irradiation-cured polycarbosilane fibers. Structural and chemical analysis based on Elemental Analyzer, FT-IR, Raman spectroscopy, electron probe micro-analyzer, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction confirm the gradient structure of obtained fibers, which consist a shell with high Si₃N₄ content and a SiC core. The as-fabricated fibers exhibit dense and smooth surfaces, and no microscopic holes or defects were observed. The effects of nitridation temperature on mechanical properties and electrical resistivity were also investigated. Combined with high mechanical properties and lightweight, the present gradient Si₃N₄/SiC fibers open a new strategy to fabricate multifunctional and electromagnetic wave absorbing materials.