Processing of a Silicon-Carbide-Whisker-Reinforced Glass-Ceramic Composite by Microwave Heating |
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Authors: | Lifu Chen Cristina Leonelli Tiziano Manfredini Cristina Siligardi |
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Affiliation: | Department of Chemistry, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, People's Republic of China;Department of Chemistry, University of Modena, 41100 Modena, Italy |
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Abstract: | A calcium magnesium aluminosilicate-based glass that contained 10 wt% of silicon carbide whiskers (SiC w ) as reinforcement was prepared by tape casting, followed by sintering either in a conventional furnace or in a microwave oven. The results were consistent with retardation of glass sintering through whisker bridging. The glass, by itself, was sintered to almost-full density at 750°C for 4 h by conventional furnace sintering; the best sintered composite, with an estimated density of ~90%, was obtained at 800°C with a dwell time of 4 h. Sintering at a temperature of >800°C did not improve the densification but rather resulted in severe whisker oxidation. A reduced densification rate was observed for the samples that were sintered in nitrogen. By contrast, in the microwave oven, almost-full density for the glass and ~95% of the theoretical density for the composite were obtainable at 850°C for 15 min, which represented a reduction of ~10 h of the total processing time and a reduced SiC w oxidation. |
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