scholarly journals Spark Plasma Sintering of SiAlON Ceramics Synthesized via Various Cations Charge Stabilizers and Their Effect on Thermal and Mechanical Characteristics

Crystals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 1378
Author(s):  
Muhammad Zulqarnain Falak ◽  
Bilal Anjum Ahmed ◽  
Hasan Aftab Saeed ◽  
Sajid Ullah Butt ◽  
Abbas Saeed Hakeem ◽  
...  

Oxygen-rich SiAlON ceramics doped with various nanosized metal oxide (MO) stabilizers were synthesized with a view to examine their effect on thermal and mechanical characteristics. The nanosized starting powder precursors comprising Si3N4, AlN, Al2O3, and SiO2 along with oxides of Ba, Y, Mg, La, Nd, Eu, Dy, Er, and Yb as the MO charge stabilizer were employed in developing different SiAlON samples. Ultrasonic probe sonication was utilized to develop a homogenous mixture of initial powder precursors followed by spark plasma sintering (SPS) of the samples at the low temperature of 1500 °C coupled with 30 min of isothermal treatment. Sample compositions (according to general formula of alpha SiAlON: Mm/vv+Si12−(m+n)Alm+nOnN16−n) selected in the present study are represented by m value of 1.1 and n value of 1.6. The synthesized samples were evaluated for their physical behavior, microstructural and crystal structure evolution, and thermal and mechanical characteristics. More specifically, the sintered ceramics were examined by X-ray diffraction and electron microscopy to comprehend and relate the structural characteristics with the densification, thermal conductivity, hardness, and fracture toughness. The high reactivity of the nanopowders and the localized heating provided by SPS resulted in densified ceramics with relative densities in the range of 92–96%. Vickers hardness values were found to be in the range of 12.4–17.0 GPa and were seen to be profoundly influenced by the grain size of the alpha SiAlON (primary) phase. The fracture toughness of the samples was measured to be in the range of 4.1–6.2 MPa·m1/2. SiAlON samples synthesized using Er and Yb charge stabilizers were found to have the highest fracture toughness of 5.7 and 6.2 MPa·m1/2, primarily due to the relatively higher content of the elongated beta phase. While there was no obvious relationship between the thermal conductivity and the alpha SiAlON metal charge stabilizers, the values were seen to be influenced by the grain size of alpha phase where Dy-SiAlON had the lowest thermal conductivity of 5.79 W/m⋅K and Er-SiAlON showed the highest value of thermal conductivity (6.91 W/m⋅K). It was concluded that scientifically selected metal oxide charge stabilizers are beneficial in developing SiAlON ceramics with properties tailored according to specific applications.

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 578-583
Author(s):  
Muhammad Asif Hussain ◽  
Adnan Maqbool ◽  
Abbas Saeed Hakeem ◽  
Fazal Ahmad Khalid ◽  
Muhammad Asif Rafiq ◽  
...  

Background: The development of new bioimplants with enhanced mechanical and biomedical properties have great impetus for researchers in the field of biomaterials. Metallic materials such as stainless steel 316L (SS316L), applied for bioimplants are compatible to the human osteoblast cells and bear good toughness. However, they suffer by corrosion and their elastic moduli are very high than the application where they need to be used. On the other hand, ceramics such as hydroxyapatite (HAP), is biocompatible as well as bioactive material and helps in bone grafting during the course of bone recovery, it has the inherent brittle nature and low fracture toughness. Therefore, to overcome these issues, a hybrid combination of HAP, SS316L and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) has been synthesized and characterized in the present investigation. Methods: CNTs were acid treated to functionalize their surface and cleaned prior their addition to the composites. The mixing of nano-hydroxyapatite (HAPn), SS316L and CNTs was carried out by nitrogen gas purging followed by the ball milling to insure the homogeneous mixing of the powders. In three compositions, monolithic HAPn, nanocomposites of CNTs reinforced HAPn, and hybrid nanocomposites of CNTs and SS316L reinforced HAPn has been fabricated by spark plasma sintering (SPS) technique. Results: SEM analysis of SPS samples showed enhanced sintering of HAP-CNT nanocomposites, which also showed significant sintering behavior when combined with SS316L. Good densification was achieved in the nanocomposites. No phase change was observed for HAP at relatively higher sintering temperatures (1100°C) of SPS and tricalcium phosphate phase was not detected by XRD analysis. This represents the characteristic advantage with enhanced sintering behavior by SPS technique. Fracture toughness was found to increase with the addition of CNTs and SS316L in HAPn, while hardness initially enhanced with the addition of nonreinforcement (CNTs) in HAPn and then decrease for HAPn-CNT-SS316L hybrid nanocomposites due to presence of SS316L. Conclusion: A homogeneous distribution of CNTs and SPS technique resulted in the improved mechanical properties for HAPn-CNT-SS316L hybrid nanocomposites than other composites and suggested their application as bioimplant materials.


2007 ◽  
Vol 352 ◽  
pp. 227-231 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qiang Shen ◽  
Z.D. Wei ◽  
Mei Juan Li ◽  
Lian Meng Zhang

AlN ceramics doped with yttrium oxide (Y2O3) as the sintering additive were prepared via the spark plasma sintering (SPS) technique. The sintering behaviors and densification mechanism were mainly investigated. The results showed that Y2O3 addition could promote the AlN densification. Y2O3-doped AlN samples could be densified at low temperatures of 1600-1700oC in 20-25 minutes. The AlN samples were characterized with homogeneous microstructure. The Y-Al-O compounds were created on the grain boundaries due to the reactions between Y2O3 and Al2O3 on AlN particle surface. With increasing the sintering temperature, AlN grains grew up, and the location of grain boundaries as well as the phase compositions changed. The Y/Al ratio in the aluminates increased, from Y3Al5O12 to YAlO3 and to Y4Al2O9. High-density, the growth of AlN grains and the homogenous dispersion of boundary phase were helpful to improve the thermal conductivity of AlN ceramics. The thermal conductivity of 122Wm-1K-1 for the 4.0 mass%Y2O3-doped AlN sample was reached.


2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 759-768
Author(s):  
Yunhui Niu ◽  
Shuai Fu ◽  
Kuibao Zhang ◽  
Bo Dai ◽  
Haibin Zhang ◽  
...  

AbstractThe synthesis, microstructure, and properties of high purity dense bulk Mo2TiAlC2 ceramics were studied. High purity Mo2TiAlC2 powder was synthesized at 1873 K starting from Mo, Ti, Al, and graphite powders with a molar ratio of 2:1:1.25:2. The synthesis mechanism of Mo2TiAlC2 was explored by analyzing the compositions of samples sintered at different temperatures. It was found that the Mo2TiAlC2 phase was formed from the reaction among Mo3Al2C, Mo2C, TiC, and C. Dense Mo2TiAlC2 bulk sample was prepared by spark plasma sintering (SPS) at 1673 K under a pressure of 40 MPa. The relative density of the dense sample was 98.3%. The mean grain size was 3.5 μm in length and 1.5 μm in width. The typical layered structure could be clearly observed. The electrical conductivity of Mo2TiAlC2 ceramic measured at the temperature range of 2–300 K decreased from 0.95 × 106 to 0.77 × 106 Ω–1·m–1. Thermal conductivity measured at the temperature range of 300–1273 K decreased from 8.0 to 6.4 W·(m·K)–1. The thermal expansion coefficient (TEC) of Mo2TiAlC2 measured at the temperature of 350–1100 K was calculated as 9.0 × 10–6 K–1. Additionally, the layered structure and fine grain size benefited for excellent mechanical properties of low intrinsic Vickers hardness of 5.2 GPa, high flexural strength of 407.9 MPa, high fracture toughness of 6.5 MPa·m1/2, and high compressive strength of 1079 MPa. Even at the indentation load of 300 N, the residual flexural strength could hold 84% of the value of undamaged one, indicating remarkable damage tolerance. Furthermore, it was confirmed that Mo2TiAlC2 ceramic had a good oxidation resistance below 1200 K in the air.


2014 ◽  
Vol 2 (38) ◽  
pp. 15829-15835 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kriti Tyagi ◽  
Bhasker Gahtori ◽  
Sivaiah Bathula ◽  
A. K. Srivastava ◽  
A. K. Shukla ◽  
...  

Intrinsically ultra-low thermal conductivity and electrical transport in single-phase Cu2SbSe3 synthesized employing a solid state reaction and spark plasma sintering.


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