SiC Ceramic Particles Research Articles

Microstructure and properties of SiC ceramic-modified aluminium alloy fabricated using wire arc additive manufacturing

A method for improving the properties of the deposited metal in wire arc additive manufacturing of Al–Si alloy is proposed here, which introduces SiC ceramic particles into the side-axis wire feed. The effects of SiC ceramic particles on the macroscopic morphology, microstructure and mechanical properties, corrosion resistance, and wear resistance of deposited metals were studied. The results show that the introduction of SiC particles will not affect the surface-forming quality of the deposited metal; this is likely due to the stable droplet transfer and no splashing. The transverse and longitudinal tensile strengths are increased by 10.1 % and 11.3 %, respectively, while the corresponding elongations are increased by 33.1 % and 47.2 %, respectively. Further, the corrosion resistance and wear resistance of Al–Si alloy deposited metals containing SiC are improved. The (100) base surface has strong texture characteristics along the deposition direction X0, and the maximum polar density decreases to 13.63, which indicates that SiC promotes the transformation of columnar crystals to equiaxial crystals. The interface between SiC and Al is non-coherent, and the performance improvement lies in the enhanced dispersion distribution and load transfer of SiC. A ring structure was prepared using double-wire arc additive manufacturing technology, and the feasibility of side-axis wire feeding technology was verified.

Prediction and Experimental Evaluation of Mechanical Properties of SiC-Reinforced Ti-4.25Al-2V Matrix Composites Produced by Laser Direct Energy Deposition.

An important direction in the development of additive technologies is associated with the addition of ceramic particles (oxide, carbide, boride, and nitride ceramics) to metal powders. The prediction of the physical and mechanical characteristics of SiC-particle-reinforced composite materials (PRCMs) in comparison with experimental results was studied. A near-α Ti-4.25Al-2V titanium-alloy-based composite reinforced by 1 vol.% of SiC ceramic particles was produced using laser direct energy deposition. A multiscale modeling approach at the micro and macro levels was applied. At the micro level, the toughness and strength characteristics for a temperature interval of T = 20-450 °C were predicted using a representative volume element of PRCM with the nearly real shape of SiC particles. At the macro level, the features of plastic deformation and fracture of the PRCM were predicted by numerical modeling using the commercial software Digimat Student Edition ver. 2022.4 and Ansys Student 2023 R2. The addition of SiC particles was found to improve the physical and mechanical properties in the whole temperature range. The results of the numerical modeling were consistent with the experimental data (the deviation did not exceed 10%). The proposed approach for predicting the physical and mechanical properties of Ti-4.25Al-2V/SiC can also be used for other PRCMs obtained by laser direct energy deposition.

Investigation of the Resistance to High-Speed Impact Loads of a Heterogeneous Materials Reinforced with Silicon Carbide Fibers and Powder.

Pioneering studies on the additive manufacturing of a cermet heterogeneous material using SiC ceramic fiber were carried out. Unique studies of the damage staging (cratering) and the transition to the destruction of the formed material during high-speed impact created with the help of an electrodynamic mass accelerator have been carried out. It has been shown that the use of ceramic fiber in a metal matrix reduces the impact crater depth by 22% compared to material with ceramic particles. For the first time, the phase composition of the resulting composite was studied using synchrotron radiation. It was shown that, as a result of laser exposure, silicon carbide SiC is dissolved in the titanium matrix with the formation of secondary compounds of the TiC and Ti5Si3C types. It has been established that the use of SiC ceramic fibers leads to their better dissolution, in contrast to the use of SiC ceramic particles, with the formation of secondary phase compounds, and to an increase in mechanical characteristics.

Titanium boride and titanium silicide phase formation by high power diode laser alloying of B4C and SiC particles with Ti: Microstructure, hardness and wear studies

In this work a novel multiphase titanium metal matrix composite (TMMC) coating was developed by high power diode laser assisted alloying of Cp-Ti with the preplaced Boropak powder consisting of B4C and SiC ceramic particles. The XRD, optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, EDAX, microhardness and wear testing techniques were employed to investigate structural phase, hardness and wear properties of the alloyed coating. Under the influence of multipass laser alloying, the B4C and SiC ceramic particles decompose to yield boron, silicon and carbon species that react with molten titanium to form TiB2, TiB, TiC and Ti5Si3 phases in the laser alloyed coating. In addition, the un-melted B4C and SiC ceramic particles are dispersed in the titanium matrix. Microstructure of the alloyed coating consists of dendrites and coralline-like structure. The tips of the coralline-like structure are in the range of 150–500 nm. The ceramic multiphase TiB2, TiB, TiC and Ti5Si3 formation resulted in average microhardness around 800–2200 HV0.2 at different regions of the TMMC coating cross section. To correlate the phase formation and microstructural features, surface temperature evolved at the interaction area during laser surface alloying was estimated by a simple equation. Activation energy for the laser melted track was calculated using the Arhennius equation. The linear reciprocating wear test performed on laser alloyed coating against WC ball showed wear rate value of 1.623 х 10−4 mm3/N.m which is 6 times lower compared to the untreated titanium.

Study on the sintering mechanism and properties of porous ceramics prepared by silicon carbide abrasive particles with multi-mineral sintering additives and silica sols

Reducing the sintering temperature of SiC ceramics while maintaining performance has been a significant challenge. This study proposes the preparation of SiC porous ceramics at lower sintering temperatures using industrial-grade SiC abrasives, instead of expensive high purity SiC ceramic particles, as ceramic aggregates by combining two process routes, namely liquid-phase sintering and additive doping, with industrial silica sol as the liquid-phase binder and three common minerals, namely kaolin, talc, and bentonite, as sintering additives. SiC ceramic precast blanks were first prepared by a semi-solid injection moulding process. The reasonable SiC sintering temperature was determined to be 1400 °C by studying the effect of sintering temperature on the component composition and microscopic morphology of the blanks. Then, SiC porous ceramics with macroscopic and microscopic pore structures were successfully prepared using an organic foam impregnation-high temperature sintering process, in which the maximum compressive load was 210.2 N at a porosity of 72.66%. Finally, the rationality of this process route was determined, which shows that this technology can reduce the complexity and production cost with cheaper raw materials and lower sintering temperature without atmosphere protection.

Investigation of mechanical properties of heat-treated A356/SiC composite fabricated through stir casting technique

In this paper, a study has been carried out to outline the impact of heat treatment of MMCs, on its microstructure, tensile properties, hardness, and the impact behaviour of A356/SiC cast MMCs. Mechanical stir casting techniques were used to fabricate MMC ingots in which SiC particles were mixed in the molten aluminum alloy by varying wt.% of 2, 4, and 6. The heat-treated aluminum-based MMCs were characterized by optical microscope, tensile strength , Brinell hardness, and impact strength experiments. The experimental results of the A356/SiC composite shows that the addition of SiC ceramic particles leads to a notable enhancement in the hardness, tensile, and impact strength compared to the base alloy. The heat treatment developed a great bonding between ceramic reinforcement and reduces the developed internal stresses in metal matrix aluminum alloy, which leads to 15.58% higher tensile strength and 10.25% impact strength, whereas reducing 6.5% hardness.

Study on Mechanical Properties of AA6061/SiC/B<sub>4</sub>C Hybrid Nano Metal Matrix Composites

The present work investigates the mechanical characterization of aluminium alloy (AA) 6061 based hybrid nanometal matrix composites (MMCs) fabricated using conventional stir casting process. Two compositions viz., AA6061+1.5 wt.% B4C+0.5 wt.% SiC (Hybrid A) and AA6061+1.5 wt.% B4C+1.5 wt.% SiC (Hybrid B) was prepared and its mechanical properties such as microhardness, tensile, compressive, flexural and impact strength were investigated to compare with unreinforced AA6061. SiC and B4C ceramic particles (purity 99.89%) of average particle size of 50 nm were used as reinforcements. Significant enhancement in microhardness of 30.2% and 31.02% for hybrid A and B are observed respectively. The ultimate tensile strength (UTS) increased by 10.72% and 16.55% for hybrid A and B respectively. Improved interaction because of the enhanced surface to volume ratio at the interface resulted in improvement of mechanical properties. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) of the fractured surface shows brittle fracture because of the incorporation of the ceramic reinforcements in the matrix material. The developed AA6061/SiC/B­4C hybrid nanocomposites show improved mechanical properties for high-performance structural applications.

Fabrication of SiC@Cu/Cu Composites with the Addition of SiC@Cu Powder by Magnetron Sputtering

In view of the surface engineering application of electrical contact materials, SiC ceramic particles were introduced into copper matrix composites by the hot-press sintering method for the sake of enhancing the service life of copper matrix electrical contact materials. Magnetron sputtering technology was exploited to form the continuous copper film on the β-SiC powders in order to improve interface wettability between SiC powder and copper matrix. The SiC@Cu powders were treated by magnetron sputtering technology. Then, dynamic deposit behavior was described according to SEM results. The phase constitution, fracture morphology, relative density, porosity, Vickers hardness, and coefficient of thermal expansion of SiC@Cu/Cu composites with different SiC@Cu addition were analyzed in detail. The results showed that SiC@Cu powders with higher fraction in the SiC@Cu/Cu composites would decrease relative density and increase porosity, so it resulted in improvement of Vickers hardness. The addition of SiC@Cu decreased CTE values of the SiC@Cu/Cu composite, especially at high-level fraction SiC@Cu powder.

On the Effect of the Rotating Chamber Reverse Speed on the Mixing of SiC Ceramic Particles in a Dry Granulation Process

In order to control the accumulation of <i>SiC</i> ceramic particles on the wall of the rotating chamber in the frame of a dry granulation process, the effect of the wall reverse speed on the mixing process is investigated. In particular, an Euler-Euler two-phase flow model is used to analyze the dynamics of both <i>SiC</i> particles and air. The numerical results show that by setting a certain reverse rotating speed of the rotating chamber, the accumulation of <i>SiC</i> particles on the wall can be improved, i.e., their direction of motion in proximity to the wall can be changed and particles can be forced to re-join the granulation process. Experimental tests conducted to verify the reliability of the numerical findings, demonstrate that when the reverse rotating speed of the rotating chamber is 4 r/min, the sphericity of <i>SiC</i> particles in the rotating chamber is the highest and the fluidity is the best possible one.

Effect of SiC/Fly Ash Reinforcement on Surface Properties of Aluminum 7075 Hybrid Composites

Friction stir processing (FSP) has emerged as a valuable technique in the surface metal matrix composite fabrication field. In this process, solid-state processing mostly avoids the formation of detrimental phases inside composites. Despite having a high specific strength, further extensive Al alloy applications are limited due to their poor surface properties. A hybrid reinforcement approach can be used to improve surface properties. In this study, industrial waste fly ash material is mixed with hard SiC ceramic particles. The main focus of this research is to improve wear resistance under dry sliding conditions and microhardness of aluminum 7075-T651 by dispersion of silicon carbide-fly ash (SiC/fly ash) powder in a base alloy by FSP. The parameters used for this investigation are: tool rotation rpm (500, 1000 and 1500), the tool traverse mm/min (20, 30 and 40), the reinforcement’s hybrid ratio HR (60:40, 75:25 and 90:10) and the volume percentage vol.% (4%, 8% and 12%). The influence of these parameters on the resultant composite’s microstructure, dry sliding wear rate and micro-hardness was studied. By using response surface methodology (RSM), desirable ranges of process parameters for lower wear rate and higher microhardness were obtained. The interaction effect of SiC/fly ash volume percentage and hybrid ratio had the most influential effect on the wear rates, as well as microhardness of composites. Moreover, microhardness increased with an increase in the volume percentage of SiC/fly ash powders towards high SiC content in hybrid ratio. Interestingly, among stirring parameters, tool traverse speed was found to be more influential than tool rotational speed. The minimum wear rate was observed for the Run 20 sample (w: 1000 rpm, v: 40 mm/min, HR: 75:25, vol.%: 8). A maximum microhardness of 241.20 HV was achieved for Run 15 (w: 500 rpm, v: 40 mm/min, HR: 90:10, vol.%: 12) sample. Mainly, reinforcement distribution—in accordance with the stirring action generated by the tool—had a major role in controlling the surface properties of the resultant composites.

Tailoring the microstructure and properties of tungsten-copper composites by minor addition of SiC particles for nuclear fusion reactor application

In this work, minor addition of SiC ceramic particles were tested to tailor the microstructure and properties of infiltrated tungsten-copper (W–Cu) composites. The resultant microstructure, density, electrical conductivity, compressive behavior and arc resistant property of the WCu-x wt%SiC (x = 0.5, 1, 2, 3) composites were studied in comparison. The phase constituents of bcc-W, fcc-Cu and hcp-SiC were confirmed by X-ray and electron diffraction techniques. It is also revealed that gradual sintering growth of W particles occurred with the increasing content of SiC under the same processing and sintering parameters. Besides, with the increase of the mixed SiC, the density and electrical conductivity showed a steady decreasing trend due to the retarded rearrangement of W during sintering and the inherently low conductivity of SiC. Specifically, the composite of WCu–2%SiC exhibited the highest room-temperature strength of 1323 MPa and the highest particle-particle contiguity value of 0.373. Moreover, it showed excellent high-temperature arc resistance and compressive properties. Electron backscattering diffraction (EBSD) analysis further validated that the origin of its high damage tolerance can be attributed to its hierarchical microstructure both in grain size and misorientation.

Effect of tool diameter ratio of tapered cylindrical profile pin on wear characteristics of friction stir processing of Al-Si alloy reinforced with SiC ceramic particles

Friction stir processing is demonstrated to effectively enhance the surface and bulk properties of aluminum composites fabricated via the stir casting route. This process is performed below the melting point of the base material wherein common conventional fabrication problems such as solidification, liquidation cracking, and porosity are eliminated to a significant extent. Five different tools with varying tool diameter ratios are experimented on while maintaining tool rotational and traverse speeds and axial force constant. In this investigation, the hardness and wear characteristics of the LM25 aluminum alloy reinforced with 5% silicon carbide particles composite is studied. It is concluded that the tool with a tool diameter ratio of 3.0 resulted in a defect-free processing zone, refined grains, and a minimum particle size enhancing the wear resistance and hardness as compared to that for other values of a tool diameter ratio.

Effect of SiC content on microstructure evolution of ZrB2-ZrC-SiC ceramic in sol-gel process

To investigate the effect of SiC content on microstructure evolution of ZrB2-ZrC-SiC ceramic in sol-gel process. ZrB2-ZrC-SiC powders with different amounts of SiC were in-situ synthesized at 1500 °C through sol-gel method. Ceramization process and effect of SiC content on the microstructure evolution of the ceramic powders were investigated. During the ceramization process, carbon content plays an important role in tailoring the compositions of ZrB2-ZrC-SiC ceramics by enhancing the growth of ZrC and SiC. ZrB2-ZrC-SiC ceramic phases, fine ceramic particles and narrow particle size distribution can be obtained with the increasing of carbon content as a result of its space steric effect. Moreover, grain size of all the phases decreased gradually with the increase of SiC content. Additionally, the introduction of SiC restrained the growth of ZrB2 but prompted the growth of ZrC. Particle size distribution was significantly narrowed and the average particle size of the powders was reduced from 610 to 200 nm when SiC content increased from about 7 wt% to 50 wt%. With the increasing of SiC content, the enhanced synergistic space steric and grain-boundary pinning effect of SiC and carbon contribute to the generation of uniform and fine ZrB2, ZrC and SiC ceramic particles with an average size of 200 nm.

WEDM investigation and fuzzy logic modelling of AA7075/SiC metal matrix composites

In the present study, an attempt has been made to study the wire cut electric discharge machining (WEDM) investigation of AA7075/SiC metal matrix composites (MMCs). The MMC was prepared with AA7075 as the matrix material reinforced with 5 wt% SiC ceramic particles using cost effective stir casting process. The micro hardness of AA7075 and AA7075 + 5 wt% SiC was 129.70 HV and 152.11 HV respectively. Three independent parameters of three levels each i.e. pulse on time (Ton), pulse off time (Toff) and peak current (Ip) were considered as inputs while material removal rate (MRR) and surface roughness (Ra) was considered as outputs. Taguchi’s design of Experiment (L9) was used during experimentation. Analysis of variance was carried out to find the percentage contribution of the input process parameters on output responses. Fuzzy logic modelling was used to model the output responses using fuzzy inference system. For surface roughness, pulse on time was the main influencing parameter and for material removal rate, pulse off time was the main influencing parameter obtained with respect to AA7075 + 5 wt% SiC. In case of AA7075, the main influencing parameter for surface roughness was pulse off time and for material removal rate, the main influencing parameter was peak current.

Microstructure and mechanical behaviour of Al/SiC/Al2O3 hybrid metal matrix composite

In the present investigation, aluminium 6061 alloy was taken as matrix material. SiC was taken as primary reinforcement material. Al2O3 was taken as secondary reinforcement material. Microstructure image shows a uniform distribution of reinforcement material in matrix AA6061. Tensile strength and hardness were improved by adding the SiC and Al2O3 ceramic particles in aluminium. However, toughness was reduced by adding the SiC and Al2O3 ceramic particles in aluminium alloy. Results showed that hard ceramic particles SiC and Al2O3 ceramic particles enhanced hardness significantly, but toughness reduced. Results showed that after the heat treatment process, the mechanical properties of composite material significantly improved.

A novel phosphate-ceramic coating for high temperature oxidation resistance of Ti65 alloys

A novel phosphate-ceramic coating was developed for high-temperature oxidation protection of Ti65 titanium alloy. Aluminum phosphate binder was strategically mixed with Al2O3+SiC ceramic particles as the filler material and subsequently deposited on Ti65 titanium alloy by air spraying. High temperature oxidation behavior of the Ti65 substrate was studied in coated and un-coated state by performing series of isothermal oxidation and thermal shock tests at 650 °C. Microstructural and thermal evolutions under different conditions were investigated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), electron-probe microanalysis (EPMA) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). It was revealed that under uncoated condition, the Ti65 alloy experienced severe oxidation and developed non-protective TiO2 oxide film. In contrast, phosphate-ceramic coated Ti65 alloy exhibited excellent oxidation resistance with small weight gain (0.35 mg/cm2) compared with that of the uncoated Ti65 alloy (1.05 mg/cm2). Microscopy results confirmed absence of TiO2 oxide scales at the coating-substrate interface. The significant enhancement in the oxidation resistance of the Ti65 alloy was attributed to the dense nature of the phosphate-ceramic protective coating with great thermal and chemical stability. Furthermore, the coating exhibited excellent thermal shock resistance for having compatible thermal expansion coefficient with the Ti65 alloy substrate.

Mechanical and wear behavior of Al 7075/Al2O3/SiC/mg metal matrix nanocomposite by liquid state process

Hybrid composites with aluminum matrix and non-metallic reinforcements are identifying extensive applications in automobile, aircraft, and military industries due to their high strength-to-volume ratio, corrosion resistance, excellent machinability, wear resistance, high thermal conductivity, etc. Nanocomposite materials are usually selected for structural applications since they possess desirable association of mechanical properties. The hybrid metal matrix nanocomposite development has come to be the most crucial area of material science engineering. In the present study, the Al 7075 is reinforced with 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, and 4.0 wt.% of (Al2O3 + SiC) and 1 wt.% of magnesium (Mg) to manufacture the hybrid composite. Magnesium (Mg) is mainly used to increase the wettability of the nanocomposites. The present research is focused on determining the mechanical and wear properties of Al 7075 in the existence of Al2O3 (20–30 nm), SiC (50 nm), and magnesium (micro). The compositions are increased from 1 to 4 wt.%, and stir casting method are used for the fabrication of aluminum metal matrix nanocomposites. The mechanical characteristics of metal matrix composites such as tensile strength, compression strength, and hardness test are studied by carrying out experiments on the computerized universal testing machine and Vickers hardness equipment. The microhardness, compression strength, and tensile strength of aluminum 7075 alloy increases by incorporating Al2O3and SiC reinforcements. Wear analysis was done to examine the effect of SiC and Al2O3 ceramic particles using a pin on disc apparatus. Worn out areas of the specimens were analyzed by SEM, energy dispersive analysis X-ray (EDAX), and XRD analysis.

Silicon carbide particles induced thermoelectric enhancement in SnSeS crystal

Solid-state thermoelectric composites consisting of promising SnSeS and SiC ceramic particles were fabricated, and their thermoelectric properties were examined. The SiC particles were randomly distributed into the SnSeS matrix, leading to the formation of the SiC/SnSeS composites. The introduction of SiC particles to the SnSeS improved the power factor which is mainly due to the effective enhancement of the Seebeck coefficient arising from the formation of phonon-scattering centers. Consequently, a maximum power factor of 215 µW m−1 K−2 was obtained for the composite with a SiC content of 1 wt.% which was greater than that of the pristine SnSeS. This result indicated that the introduction of SiC particles to the SnSeS is an efficient route to achieve high performance for widespread applications.

Experimental Investigation of Dry Sliding Wear Behaviour on Ceramic Reinforced Magnesium Composite by Powder Metallurgy Technique

Abstract Magnesium is a metal which is more abundant and has very low density but it has a low hardness and it has less wear resistance. To improve the properties of magnesium, SiC ceramic particles are reinforced. Composite is fabricated by powder metallurgy technique by varying the content of Mg in the range of 99.5%, 99%, 98.5 and 98% and SiC in the range of 0.5%, 1%, 1.5% and 2% by weight respectively. Mechanical alloying was done prior to the fabrication of composites by using ball milling with the milling parameters like ball to powder ratio, milling speed, milling duration and process control agent are 20:1, 250rpm, 10hrs, and methanol respectively. The mechanically alloyed powders were compressed in a die with the sample size of 8mm diameter with 35mm length at a pressure of 500MPa by using the 50-tonnes/ square inch hydraulic press. The compacted samples were sintered in the furnace at 550°C and maintained for 2hrs in the argon atmosphere and then furnace cooling was done to improve the sintering property. The fabricated magnesium composite samples are subjected to hardness and wear test evaluation. The wear test results indicate that the obtained higher hardness samples of 98%Mg-2%SiC composite pin shows better wear resistance and friction force responses when compared to other samples at all the parametric conditions of load and velocity. Then the wear mechanisms that has occurred on the worn out pin surface was examined by using scanning electron microscope.

Microstructure characteristics and its formation mechanism of selective laser melting SiC reinforced Al-based composites

SiC ceramic reinforced Al-based composites were successfully synthetized by selective laser melting (SLM) of 8.5 vol % SiC/AlSi10 Mg powder mixtures. The mechanism of microstructure evolution in an individual molten pool of the SLM processing was investigated. Three characteristic zones were well distinguished, including center and boundary areas of the molten pool as well as the heat-affected zone. The results revealed that the microstructure changing from columnar dendrite growth to cellular growth along the building direction could be attributed to the change of G/R (G is temperature gradient and R is solidification velocity). Phase identification of the SLM-fabricated parts was performed by X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) and Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS) analysis, further demonstrating the in-situ formed phases in the molten pool. Al4SiC4 crystals were formed in situ around the partially melted SiC ceramic particles. The nanoindentation tests conducted on different areas of the SLM-fabricated Al-based composites exhibited the high nanohardness (2.27 GPa and 2.15 GPa) and the elastic modulus (78.94 GPa and 75.46 GPa) in the center and boundary of molten pool, respectively, which were much higher than the reported value of conventional materials.