Premium
Spark Plasma Sintering of Alumina Composites with Graphene Platelets and Silicon Carbide Nanoparticles
Author(s) -
Liu Jian,
Li Zheng,
Yan Haixue,
Jiang Kyle
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
advanced engineering materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.938
H-Index - 114
eISSN - 1527-2648
pISSN - 1438-1656
DOI - 10.1002/adem.201300536
Subject(s) - materials science , spark plasma sintering , composite material , fracture toughness , microstructure , flexural strength , silicon carbide , sintering , ceramic , graphene , composite number , nanotechnology
This paper reports a study on sintering and characterization of alumina (Al 2 O 3 ) ceramic composites with graphene platelets (GPLs) and silicon carbide (SiC) nanoparticles. 1, 3, and 5 vol% SiC and 0.38 vol% GPL are mixed with Al 2 O 3 powders and sintered in a spark plasma sintering system. The microstructures and mechanical properties of the composites are investigated. It is found that the composites reinforced with the dual fillers exhibit more uniform and finer microstructures than pure Al 2 O 3 and average grain sizes of the composites decrease with the increasing percentage of SiC. Compared with pure Al 2 O 3 , the composites show approximately a 36% increase in hardness, a 40% increase in flexural strength and a 50% increase in fracture toughness. Toughening mechanisms induced by GPLs, such as crack bridging, pullout and crack deflection in the composites, are observed and discussed.