The Effect of Sintering Processes and Additives on the Microstructures and Mechanical Properties of ZrB2-SiC Composite Ceramics

This paper reports the effect of sintering processes and additives on the microstructures and mechanical properties of $ZrB_2$ -SiC composite ceramics. We fabricated sintered bodies of $ZrB_2$ -20 vol.% SiC with or without sintering additive, such as C or $B_4C$ , densified by spark plasma sintering as well as hot pressing. While almost full densification was achieved regardless of sintering processes or sintering additives, significant grain growth was observed in the case of spark plasma sintering, especially with $B_4C$ . With sintered bodies, mechanical properties, such as flexural strength and Vickers hardness, were also examined.