Influence of Infiltration Additives on the Phase, Microstructure and Oxidation Resistance of SiC Coating for Graphite Materials

Abstract

Oxidation resistant SiC coating for graphites was prepared by a pack cementation process with mixture powders of Si, C, SiC and some infiltration additives containing MgO, Al2O3 and Cr2O3. The influence of different infiltration additives on the phase, microstructure and oxidation resistance of SiC coating was primarily investigated. The results showed that adding infiltration additive in the pack powders is helpful for depositing denser SiC coating on graphite substrate; and the coating prepared by using MgO as infiltration additive exhibited better oxidation resistance at high temperature. XRD analyses revealed that SiC coating prepared by adding of MgO as infiltration additive possessed more free silicon; and the SEM analyses displayed that the free silicon could effectively fill the small holes of the SiC coating, which resulted in a perfect dense surface structure of SiC coating. Oxidation test showed that the as-prepared SiC coating could effectively protect graphite materials at 1500oC for 200 hours and the corresponding weight loss of the coated graphite was only 0.13%.