Silicon Carbide Ceramics

Silicon carbides have major industrial uses as high temperature structural ceramic materials. These two volumes are translated from the Japanese and provide a comprehensive account of the seminal work going on in Japan.

It has been three decades since the last significant book was published on SiC ceramics (other than those books that specifically focus on SiC semiconductors). Thirty years has been a long time in the world of SiC ceramics. In the early 1990s, SiC was still a relatively obscure ceramic even within the materials community, prominent only as an industrial abrasive (carborundum), and a refractory (Chapter 7). This has all changed dramatically in the 21st century. For example, As a semiconductor, SiC greatly surpasses silicon in performance, especially in high-power systems. Its market penetration since its launch in 2001 has been exponential. Single-crystal SiC semiconductors are covered in Chapter 3 Millions of military and paramilitary personnel have globally been protected with lightweight SiC body armour, since the late 1990s. Body armour is covered in Chapters 4 and 5 SiC–SiC is a composite material close to commercialization that makes possible high-temperature load-bearing applications hitherto only able to be hypothesized: from ultra-high-temperature jet turbine blades to advanced nuclear fuel encapsulation, the possibilities are very promising. Aerospace applications are covered in Chapter 9 Other key areas that are addressed are blast-resistant SiC vehicle/vessel armour in Chapter 8 and wear-resistant SiC ceramics in Chapter 6 Silicon Carbide Ceramics will be an essential reference resource for academic and industrial researchers and materials scientists and engineers working in ceramic materials for the semiconductor, defence, aerospace, wear resistance and refractory fields Presents an extensive review of the history, production and properties of SiC ceramics, including their characterization and applications Discusses classical and state-of-the-art sintering technologies for SiC ceramics Focuses on the future of ceramic manufacturing and advanced ceramic additive technologies

Discovered by Edward G. Acheson about 1890, silicon carbide is one of the oldest materials and also a new material. It occurs naturally in meteorites, but in very small amounts and is not in a useable state as an industrial material. For industrial require ments, large amounts of silicon carbide must be synthesized by solid state reactions at high temperatures. Silicon carbide has been used for grinding and as an abrasive material since its discovery. During World War II, silicon carbide was used as a heating element; however, it was difficult to obtain high density sintered silicon carbide bodies. In 1974, S. Prochazka reported that the addition of small amounts of boron compounds and carbide were effective in the sintering process to obtain high density. It was then possible to produce high density sintered bodies by pressureless sintering methods in ordinary atmosphere. Since this development, silicon carbide has received great attention as one of the high temperature structural ceramic materials. Since the 1970s, many research papers have appeared which report studies of silicon carbide and silicon nitride for structural ceramics.

In this book, we explore an eclectic mix of articles that highlight some new potential applications of SiC and different ways to achieve specific properties. Some articles describe well-established processing methods, while others highlight phase equilibria or machining methods. A resurgence of interest in the structural arena is evident, while new ways to utilize the interesting electromagnetic properties of SiC continue to increase.

Treatise on Materials Science and Technology, Volume 29: Structural Ceramics presents an overview of structural ceramics. This book begins with a survey of potential uses, designs, and barriers of particular types of structural ceramics. The silicon carbide family, silicon nitride and sialon family, and transformation toughened ceramics are discussed in detail, followed by an analysis of the various processing routes of each family of structural ceramics. This publication concludes with a review of the tribology of structural ceramics, considering many applications for structural ceramics in heat engines and other machinery that involve moving parts which must often resist wear or erosion. This volume is recommended for engineers, scientists, and researchers concerned with structural ceramics.

The suggestion that a NATO Advanced Study Institute would be an excellent forum for reviews and informed discussion on the broad subject of Nitrogen Ceramics, arose out of discussions with colleagues in the Department of Ceramics at the University of Leeds early in 1975. There was no doubt that such a meeting would be both very valuable and timely. Scientific and technological interest in the nitride ceramics and in silicon nitride in part icular had been growing steadily during the 20-year period following 1955. The intensive five-year programme initiated by the Advanced Research Projects Agency of the U. S. Department of Defence, on the development of a design capability in brittle materials for high temperature applications, had been based principally on silicon nitride and silicon carbide ceramics, and was due to reach the end of its first stage in the autumn of 1976. It was clear that by then a considerable volume of information covering many aspects of silicon nitride would be available for presentation or review. Coincidentally, the same five-year period had seen the discovery, and increasingly detailed investigation, of ceramic materials based on the AI-Si-N-O and similar systems. Besides being of great interest for their crystal chemistry and structural relationships, some of these materials could be assumed potentially to be of equal importance to the silicon nitride ceramics. More recently progress had also been made in the sintering of covalent materials, as demonstrated for the case of silicon carbide.