Papers by Author: E. Dolekcekic

Abstract: In this work partially and fully densified silicon nitride based composites have been prepared using carbon black and graphite additions. Alumina and yttria sintering additives were also added to silicon nitride starting powders. Sinter-HIP and pressure-less sintering (PLS) have been employed for composite processing. The effects of carbon nano- and micro-grains on the microstructure, bending strength and hardness have been investigated. Higher strengths could be achieved by HIP, whereas more homogeneous properties can be assured by PLS.

Abstract: Y-SiAlON glasses of composition 36.5 Y: 42.3 Si: 21.2 Al with different amounts of N (0, 5, 8, 15 and 22 in e/o) were produced by melting appropriate mixtures of powders under flowing nitrogen at 1715°C. This composition is known to give B-phase (Y2SiAlO5N) on crystallisation at temperatures below 1050°C. In this work, the effect of nitrogen in the starting glass composition on the crystalline phases formed is discussed. High temperature in-situ XRD analysis was performed on powdered glass samples up to 1150°C by using a Philips X’pert PRO MPD (Multi Purpose Diffractometer) with a HTK1200 Oven Camera (Anton Paar, Austria). As expected, the results show that different nitrogen contents affect the crystalline phases formed. In all glasses, yttrium apatite silicate forms first, followed by crystallisation of B-phase. The phase transformation from B-phase to Iw-phase (Y3Si2Al[O,N10] i.e. 10 e/o N) takes place at relatively low temperatures (1050°C) for the lower nitrogen containing samples (5 and 8 e/o), whereas, the transformation does not take place for the glasses with higher nitrogen contents even at the maximum temperature studied (1150°C). This work also confirms that there is a correlation between the temperature where the first crystals appear and the amount of nitrogen in the starting glass.