MICROSTRUCTURE-PROPERTY RELATIONSHIPS IN SiC/DIAMOND COMPOSITES AS A FUNCTION OF DIAMOND CONTENT

摘要

The addition of diamond reinforcement to silicon carbide (SiC) results in significant improvement in properties such as stiffness, hardness, wear resistance, thermal conductivity, and thermal stability. At very high diamond content, some properties can approach those of monolithic diamond, while maintaining the manufacturability of SiC. However, properties prediction is difficult, with the response often non-linear with respect to the SiC to diamond ratio. The present work creates a systematic set of reaction bonded diamond-reinforced SiC composites where diamond content is varied, but other microstructural parameters, such as grain size, are maintained constant. Physical, mechanical, and thermal properties are measured, and correlations with diamond content are generated.