Preparation of ZrC/SiC composites by using polymer-derived ceramics and spark plasma sintering. Issue 5 (May 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Laadoua, Hatim; Pradeilles, Nicolas; Lucas, Romain; Foucaud, Sylvie; Clegg, William John
• Is Part Of: Journal of the European Ceramic Society. Volume 40:Issue 5(2020)
• Page Start: 1811
• Page End: 1819
• Publication Date: 2020-05
• Subjects: Manufacturing -- Consolidation -- Hybrid -- Ceramic-matrix composites (CMCs); Ceramic materials -- Periodicals; Composite materials -- Periodicals; Matériaux céramiques -- Périodiques; Composites -- Périodiques; Ceramic materials; Composite materials; Periodicals; Electronic journals; 666.05
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jeurceramsoc.2019.12.019
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0955-2219

Abstract

Abstract: ZrC/SiC composites were fabricated using Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS) combined with the Polymer-Derived Ceramics (PDC) route. The originality of this work, consisted in the direct ceramization/sintering of a ZrC/polymer mixture without any previous crosslinking steps. The presence of a polymer in our mixtures required an optimization of the thermomechanical parameters of SPS in order to promote the polymer-to-ceramic conversion prior to the densification. The optimized SPS conditions were composed of a dwell temperature of 700 °C for 10 min followed by a soaking temperature of 1700 °C for 5 min under an applied load of 75 MPa. A fine and homogenous phase distribution was achieved at relatively low temperature (1700 °C) compared to the high temperatures required for the sintering of the refractory composite. The influence of the addition of SiC (up to 10 wt%) was also studied and related to the final relative densities and mechanical properties of the composites.