Room-temperature mechanical properties of liquid-phase-sintered α-SiC with Y2O3-Al2O3 additions

We have studied the influence of the additives concentrations (5, 10 or 30 wt%), the sintering atmosphere (Ar or N-2) and the sintering duration (2 or 7 h) on the room-temperature mechanical properties of liquid-phase-sintered alpha-SiC with Y2O3-Al2O3 additives. Results from this work show that longer sintering durations lead to a decrease in both the hardness and the sliding-wear resistance, but an increase in the toughness. With increasing amount of sintering additives the toughness first increases then decreases. Sintering in nitrogen-rich atmospheres results in an increase in both the hardness and the toughness, but a decrease in the sliding-wear resistance.