R-curve, erosion and wear of silicon carbide ceramics

탄화규소의 R-curve, 침식 및 마모 특성

This paper addresses the R-curve properties, wear resistance, and erosion resistance of the two silicon carbide ceramics with different microstructures, i.e. , fine grained SiC and in situ-toughened SiC(IST SIC). Fine grained SiC exhibits a relatively flat R-curve behavior whereas the IST SiC exhibits a increasing R-curve behavior. The increasing R-curve behavior in IST SiC is attributed to relatively weak grain boundaries. The rate of material removal during wear tests and erosion tests was higher for IST SiC than that for fine grained SiC. This is attributed to the weaker grain boundaries in IST SiC than that in fine grained SiC. It is implied that fracture toughness in short crack regime should be taken into consideration in the interpretation of the microscopical material removal process. We show that the higher the strength of grain boundaries is, the higher wear and erosion resistances are.