Effect of graphite flake on the mechanical properties of hot pressed ZrB2-SiC ceramics

Xinghong Zhang, Zhi Wang*, Xin Sun, Wenbo Han, Changqing Hong

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

117 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

A ZrB2 ceramic containing 20 vol.% SiC and 10 vol.% graphite flake (ZrB2-SiC-G) was fabricated by hot pressing. It was shown that the fracture toughness was improved due to the introduction of graphite flake, whereas the flexure strength and hardness decreased slightly. The fracture toughness of ZrB2-SiC-G composite was 6.1 ± 0.3 MPa·m1/2, which was much higher than that of monolithic ZrB2, ZrB2-SiC composite and similar ZrB2-SiC-C composite. The toughening mechanisms are crack deflection and branching as well as stress relaxation near the crack tip. The results here pointed to a potential method for improving fracture toughness of ZrB2-based ceramics.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)4360-4362
Number of pages3
JournalMaterials Letters
Volume62
Issue number28
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 15 Nov 2008
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Graphite flake
  • Mechanical properties
  • Microstructure
  • ZrB-SiC

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