Densification studies of silicon carbide-based ceramics with yttria, silica and alumina as sintering additives

Silicon carbide has been extensively used in structural applications, especially at high temperatures. In this work, Y2O3, Al2O3 and SiO2 were added to beta-SiC in order to obtain highly dense ceramics. Sintering was conducted in a dilatometer and in a graphite resistance furnace and the densification behaviour was studied. Sintered samples were characterised by density measurements, the crystalline phases were identified by X-ray diffraction. Microstructural observation of polished and polished/etched samples was carried out with help of scanning electron microscopy. Silicon carbide ceramics with more than 90% of the theoretical density were obtained by pressureless sintering if a suitable proportion of the additives is used.