Oxidation and erosion behaviour of SiC-HfC multilayered composite

Abstract

The fabrication of SiC-HfC ceramic composite via self-propagating high-temperature synthesis and simultaneous consolidation was investigated. Dense composite consisting of alternating layers of SiC and HfC was obtained by spark plasma sintering of stack of SiC cloths covered by electrophoretically deposited HfO2 . The deposited HfO2 was converted into HfC during sintering. The obtained ceramics was characterized in terms of microstructure, cavitation resistance and oxidation resistance. It was shown that spark plasma sintering is effective way to preserve fibre-like mikrostructure of SiC. The obtained material showed good erosion resistance. The surface layer of HfC transformed to HfO2 during oxidation of samples and protected SiC from further oxidation.