High temperature Hexoloy{trademark} SX silicon carbide. Final report

HEXOLOY{reg_sign} SX-SiC, fabricated with Y and Al containing compounds as sintering aids, has been shown to possess significantly improved strength and toughness over HEXOLOY{reg_sign}SA-SiC. This study was undertaken to establish and benchmark the complete mechanical property database of a first generation material, followed by a process optimization task to further improve the properties. Mechanical characterization on the first generation material indicated that silicon-rich pools, presumably formed as a reaction product during sintering, controlled the strength from room temperature to 1,232 C. At 1,370 C in air, the material was failing due to a glass-phase formation at the surface. This glass-phase formation was attributed to the reaction of yttrium aluminates, which exist as a second phase in the material, with the ambient. This process was determined to be a time-dependent one that leads to slow crack growth. Fatigue experiments clearly indicated that the slow crack growth driven by the reaction occurred only at temperatures >1,300 C, above the melting point of the glass phase. Process optimization tasks conducted included the selection of the best SiC powder source, studies on mixing/milling conditions for SiC powder with the sintering aids, and a designed experiment involving a range of sintering and post-treatment conditions. The optimization study conducted on the densification variables indicated that lower sintering temperatures and higher post-treatment pressures reduce the Si-rich pool formation, thereby improving the room-temperature strength. In addition, it was also determined that furnacing configuration and atmosphere were critical in controlling the Si-rich formation