Abstract
ZrB2–SiC ultra high temperature ceramics containing B4C and C as sintering additives were successfully prepared by aqueous gelcasting and pressureless sintering. Polyacrylic acid (PAA) was used as the dispersant throughout this research. The various effects of zeta potential, pH value, dispersant concentration, solid loading and ball-milling time on the rheology and fluidity behavior of ZrB2–SiC suspension were investigated in detail. A well-dispersed suspension with 50vol.% solid loading was prepared at pH 10 with 0.4wt.% PAA after ball milling at 240rpm for 24h. Then crack-free green ZrB2–SiC ceramics were obtained by gelcasting process and then pressureless sintered at 2100°C to about 98% relative density. The microstructure and mechanical properties were examined, and the flexural strength and fracture toughness were 405±27MPa and 4.3±0.3MPam1/2, respectively.
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