Papers by Author: Guan Jun Qiao

Abstract: C/C-SiC composites were rapidly fabricated by a two-steps processing. Firstly a short-cut carbon fiber felt (SC) and a 2D carbon fiber felt (2D) were densified to C/C composites by a thermal gradient chemical vapor infiltration (CVI) method with vaporized kerosene as a precursor in 2h, 3h, 4h and 5h, respectively. Then the C/C composites were infiltrated and reacted with melting silicon to obtain C/C-SiC composites. The results show that, with increase of the CVI time, the densities of the two types of C/C-SiC composites decrease in the range of 2.28g/cm3 to 2.00g/cm3; their porosities increase ranging from 1.3% to 7.5%; the contents of the β-SiC and the unreacted Si phases in the composites decline. The flexural strength of the 2D_C/C-SiC composite is much higher than that of the SC_C/C-SiC composite when prepared in the same condition.

Abstract: The AlN/Ti laminated composites were fabrication by plasma activated sintering. In the composites, the AlN layers were matrix layers and the Ti layers were as the toughening layers. The microstructure and mechanical properties were studied. XRD and SEM results showed that a new phase (TiN, Al5Ti2) in the layer interface was generated by reaction of AlN and Ti. The AlN/Ti interface bonding was strengthened by existing of the new phase, plastic deformation and bridging of ductile Ti phase. The crack propagation path would be extended by the flexuous pattern. Therefore, the fracture toughness of composites was improved obviously comparing with the monolithic AlN and the bending strength decreased a little.

Abstract: The B4C/BN composites were fabricated by hot-pressing process. The microstructure, mechanical properties and oxidation resistances of the B4C/BN composites were investigated. It was shown that the h-BN particles were distributed in the B4C ceramics matrix. The mechanical properties of the B4C/BN microcomposites and the B4C/BN nanocomposites decreased gradually with the increasing content of h-BN. The mechanical properties of the B4C/BN nanocomposites were significantly improved in comparison with the B4C/BN microcomposites. The oxidation processes were performed at 1000oC, 1100oC, 1200oC, 1300oC for 20h. The oxidation curves of the B4C monolith, the B4C/BN microcomposites and the B4C/BN nanocomposites decreased gradually with the increase of oxidation temperature and oxidation time. The specimen’s weight and the oxidation resistance decreased gradually with the increase of oxidation temperature and oxidation time. The specimens remained good oxidation resistance at 1000oC; the oxidation resistance decreased remarkably at 1300oC. The decreasing specimen’s weight was attributed to the evaporation of B2O3 which produced by oxidation process of B4C and h-BN. The phase composition and microstructure of specimen’s surface after oxidation process were investigated by XRD and SEM.

Abstract: Ceramic composites containing BN and Al can be machined easily into complex shape, the hardness of the composites can also be improved by surface hardening process of in situ reaction between Al and BN. However, the reaction of Al and BN is a volume reduced one and the porosity will increase during the hardening treatment.. In order to solve this problem, a surface nitriding process was developed. Put the pre-sintering samples (with designed shapes) into a vacuum furnace in nitrogen atmosphere and reheated to high-temperature, so that the residual Al after pre-sintering would react with N2 completely, and change to AlN which has higher hardness. The phase transformation and microstructure were observed and the mechanical and other properties were also measured. The results showed that the surface nitriding process could increase the hardness, bending strength and density obviously. The porosity decreased sharply compared with the general hardening treatment.

Abstract: Porous silicon nitride ceramics with various amounts (25, 35, and 45 vol %) of hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) were fabricated at 1800°C for 2h by the pressureless sintering process. With FESEM and TEM, the effects of h-BN on the microstructure and mechanical properties of Si3N4 ceramics were investigated. Results of the microstructure and mechanical properties of Si3N4/BN composites showed that the growth of the elongated β-Si3N4 were hindered by h-BN additive, which resulted in the decrease of fracture toughness of Si3N4/BN ceramics with increasing h-BN content. The morphologies of the fracture surfaces by FESEM revealed the fracture mode for Si3N4/BN composites to be intergranular. However, phase analysis by XRD indicated that the effect of h-BN on the α- to β- Si3N4 phase transformation of Si3N4/BN composites was negligible.

Abstract: Si3N4/BN composite ceramics with 25vol% h-BN were prepared by pressure-less sintering process with Nd2O3/Al2O3/Y2O3 as sintering additives. The effects of these ternary additives on the densification behaviors and mechanical properties were investigated. XRD and FESEM were used to investigate the α-β phase transformation and microstructure. The XRD results showed that α-Si3N4 has transformed to β-Si3N4 completely in all the samples during the pressureless sintering process. The line shrinkage increased with the Nd2O3 contents increasing, and the highest line shrinkage (7.75%) was observed when 4wt% Nd2O3 was added, then decreased. The same trends were observed in flexural strength and fracture toughness testing. The ternary additives of Y2O3-Al2O3-Nd2O3 could improve the density, strength and fracture toughness of the material effectively.

Abstract: With commercial α-Si3N4 and h-BN powders as starting materials, La2O3, Al2O3, Y2O3 as sintering additives, Si3N4/BN composite ceramics with 25vol% h-BN were fabricated by pressureless sintering. Various amounts of La2O3 (0, 2, 4, 8, 15wt%) were added, with constant Y2O3/Al2O3 weight ratio and additives (Y2O3/Al2O3/La2O3) amount. The densification behaviors, α-βtransformation and room-temperature strength of Si3N4/BN composite were investigated. The porosity of samples decreased with La2O3 content increasing, and the lowest porosity of 20.83% was observed for samples containing 4wt% La2O3, then leaded to an increase. The flexural strength of all the specimens increased with the addition up to 4wt% and changed greatly thereafter. The highest room-temperature flexural strength, 272.4MPa, was obtained when 4wt% La2O3 was added. Results of XRD patterns revealed that β-Si3N4 and h-BN existed in all the specimens. No α-Si3N4 was detected, implying thatα- toβ-Si3N4 transformation has been completed during the pressureless sintering process. These results show that the La2O3-Al2O3-Y2O3 system can act as effective sintering additives for pressureless sintered Si3N4/BN composite.

Abstract: Machinable SiC/graphite composites were fabricated by Plasma Activated Sintering (PAS), which characterized by high heating rate, short time sintering and high efficiency process. The staring powder mixture included SiC, graphite power and a few sintering aids. They were sintered by PAS under 30 MPa Pressure in vacuum at 1500°C and 1550°C, respectively. The density, bending strength and hardness were measured. The phase and the microstructure of the composites were also investigated. The results indicated that the relative density of SiC/C(graphite) composite sintered at 1550°C was more than 99.5%, the bending strength was 336.6MPa, but surface Vickers hardness was 5.8GPa far lower than SiC ceramics. The machinability of SiC/Graphite sintered by PAS in 1500°C was good because the continuous weak microstructure played a crucial role in the machining process, including a lot of weak interface between the grains of SiC and graphite partials and nearly 20vol% pores in the composite ceramics.

Abstract: In order to obtain machinable ceramic with high hardness and strong mechanical properties, the SiC/Al/h-BN Composite Ceramics were fabricated by a new method which prepared the machinable pre-sintered body by Plasma Activated Sintering (PAS) and increased it's mechanical properties after hardening treatment. The results showed that the machinability and density of the pre-sintered h-BN/Al/SiC ceramic composites were excellent, and after hardening treatment, the mechanical properties (hardness, bending strength and density) increased obviously.

Abstract: SiC/h-BN nano-composites powder was synthesized using an in-situ reaction method and SiC/h-BN nano-composites were fabricated by hot-pressing. Damage resistance and R-curve behavior of machinable SiC/h-BN nano-composites was evaluated using the indentation- strength-in-bending technique and compared with that of SiC/h-BN micro-composites and monolithic SiC. The results showed that SiC/h-BN nano-composites have better damage resistance and R-curve behavior than SiC/h-BN micro-composites and monolithic SiC.