GB2031862A - Beryllium containing silicon carbide powder composition - Google Patents

Abstract

A method of sintering silicon carbide powders containing beryllium or a beryllium containing compound as a densification aid is disclosed. The sintering is carried out in an atmosphere containing beryllium at a partial pressure equal to or greater than the equilibrium vapour pressure of beryllium in the powder. The silicon carbide powder may include 0.5 to 5.0 percent by weight of excess carbon and also other sintering aids such as boron or a boron containing compound.

Description

SPECIFICATION Beryllium containing silicon carbide powder composition Silicon carbide, a crystalline compound of silicon and non-metallic carbon, has long been known for its harness, its strength, and its excellent resistance to oxidation and corrosion. Silicon carbide has a low coefficient of expansion, good heat transfer properties, and maintains high strength at elevated temperatures. In recent years, the art of producing high density silicon carbide bodies from silicon carbide powders has been developed. Methods include reaction bonding, chemical vapour deposition, hot pressing, and pressureless sintering (initially forming the article and subsequently sintering). Examples of these methods are described in U.S. Patents Nos. 3,853,566; 3,852,099; 3,954,483; and 3,960,577.The high density silicon carbide bodies so produced are excellent engineering materials and find utility in the fabrication of components for tubines, heat exchange units, pumps, and other equipment or tools that are exposed to severe wear and/or operation under high temperature conditions. The present invention relates both to silicon carbide powder mixture that are adapted to use in the various methods of producing a high density silicon carbide body by hot pressing or sintering and to the ceramic articles produced therefrom.

In order to obtain high density and high strength silicon carbide ceramic materials, various additives have been utilized. For example, a method of hot pressing silicon carbide to densities in order of 98 percent of theoretical by addition of aluminium and iron as densification aids is disclosed by Alliegro, et al, J. Ceram.

Soc., Vol. 39, No. 11, Nov., 1965, pages 386 to 389. They found that dense silicon carbide could be produced from a powder mixture containing 1 percent by weight of aluminium. Their product had a modulus of rupture of 54,000 psi at room temperature and 70,000 psi at 1371"C. More recent advance is the use of boron as a densification additive, usually in the range of between about 0.3 and about 3.0 percent by weight of the powder. The boron additive may be in the form of elemental boron or in the form of boron-containing compounds, for example, boron carbide. Examples of silicon carbide powders containing boron may be found in U.S. Patents Nos. 3,852,099; 3,954,483; and 3,968,194.

It has now been found that high densification may be obtained when the sintering of silicon carbide-containing powders which include beryllium as a densification aid is carried out in the presence of a beryllium-containing atmosphere.

According to the present invention there is provided a method of sintering silicon carbide powders containing beryllium or a beryllium-containing compound as densification aid to produce a high density silicon carbide ceramic material which comprises the step of sintering such powders in an atmosphere containing beryllium, wherein the partial pressure of beryllium in the atmosphere during sintering is equal to or greater than the equilibrium vapour pressure of beryllium in the powder.

By performing the sintering operation in an atmosphere containing beryllium, the amount of beryllium which would be normally removed from the powder compact is reduced, and the sintered ceramic product has a more consistent composition and is less porous than sintered products produced when beryllium is simply used as an additive in the powder. Beryllium may be added to the furnace atmosphere by inclusion into the sintering chamber of compounds of beryllium which produce a significant vapour pressure in the sintering temperature range. Such compounds may suitably be introduced into the sintering chamber by forming a solution or slurry of the beryllium compound and applying the solution or slurry to the interior of the chamber.Suitably, acetone is used as the carrier, but other carriers, such as water or other available liquids, may be employed, their only purpose being to enable good distribution of the beryllium material on the walls of the sintering chamber. A beryllium atmosphere may suitably be provided by a cover mix, a powder composition containing a beryllium source, for example, a mixture of silicon carbide and beryllium carbide. When using a cover mix, the article to be sintered is placed within the cover mix and the article in the mix exposed to sintering conditions. Alternatively, beryllium may be added to the furnace atmosphere by the use in the sintering chamber of a beryllium compound, per se, or by the use of furnace components, containers, crucibles and the like which contain a significant amount of beryllium.Crucibles utilized repeatedly in the production of sintered silicon carbide articles by the present process may build up a concentration of beryllium. The beryllium content of such crucibles may be monitored by standard analytical techniques, e.g. emission spectroscopy, to determine the amount of beryllium in the crucible and if additional beryllium is required to produce the beryllium atmosphere of the present invention.

The starting silicon carbide powder, preferably containing from about 0.5 to about 5.0 percent by weight excess carbon, is admixed with finely-divided beryllium or a beryllium-containing compound. Preferably, the particle size of both components is less than 5 microns and, more preferably, less than 2 microns.

Exceptionally good distribution is obtained when the components are less than 1.0 microns. In order to obtain densification, the beryllium or beryllium-containing additive should be utilized in an amount whereby between about 0.03 and about 1.5 percent by weight of the powder is beryllium. The use of less than about 0.03 percent by weight has not been found to substantially increase the density of the sintered product. The addition of more than about 1.5 percent by weight of beryllium may be detrimental to densification.

A bulk density of at least 75 percent of theoretical is required for most applications, and bulk densities of at least 85 percent of theoretical are more often required. Sintered products having densities of 85 percent of theoretical may be obtained by the process of the present invention.

The beryllium additive of the present invention may be utilized alone or may be mixed with other densification aids, the most usual being boron in the form of elementarl boron or boron-containing compounds. Boron in amounts between about 0.10 and about 1.5 percent by weight are useful; however, densities of over 90 percent of theoretical are obtainable when the boron additive is included in amounts of from about 0.1 to about 0.3 percent by weight. In general, such mixtures, when ready for sintering, contain from about 0.03 to about 1.5 percent by weight of beryllium and a total of between about 0.03 and about 3.0 percent by weight of densification aids.

The silicon carbide source material is preferably a sub-micron powder having a surface area greater than 8.0 m2/gm and containing from about 0.5 to about 5.0 percent by weight of excess carbon. Generally, powder compositions having surface areas between about 5 and about 20 m2/gm are found eminently useful. The excess carbon may be introduced, for example, during the production process, by the subsequent addition of carbon or a carbonaceous material, or as a binder prior to sintering.

The beryllium or beryllium-containing additive starting materials found useful are generally less than 50 microns in particle size, and preferably, less than 10 microns in particle size. A particle size of less than 5 microns is eminently useful for ease of even distribution of the beryllium or beryllium-containing additive with the silicon carbide powder to obtain a homogeneous mixture useful in sintering. Other additives may be utilized but are not necessary for the promotion of densification during the sintering process.

Preferably, the sintering operation is carried out in an inert atmosphere; gases, such as argon or helium, being inert to silicon carbide at the sintering temperature range are aptly suited to use. A reducing atmosphere may also be utilized.

The present invention utilizes a beryllium-containing atmosphere during the sintering operation. The use of beryllium in the sintering atmosphere yields marked improvement when the partial pressure of beryllium in the atmosphere during sintering is equal to or greater than the equilibrium vapour pressure of the beryllium contained in the silicon carbide powder compact. When the partial pressure of beryllium in the sintering atmosphere is the same or greater than that of beryllium in the article to be sintered, there will be no loss of volatile beryllium during the sintering operation. The now residual beryllium in the article acts as an aid in densification. At sintering temperatures, the partial pressure of beryllium in the atmosphere is usually at least 104 atmosphere and, more preferably, at least 10-3 atmosphere.

The silicon carbide powders containing beryllium or beryllium-containing compounds as densification aids generally contain beryllium in amounts between about 0.03 and about 1.5 percent by weight and, more preferably, from about 0.04 to about 1.25 percent by weight. The final sintered material usually contains about the same percentage of beryllium. It has been found that sintering in a beryllium-containing atmosphere does not appear to substantially change the amount of beryllium in the final product. The beryllium atmosphere functions to inhibit the escape of beryllium from the powder compact during the sintering operation without adding any significant amount of beryllium to the product.

Thus, in pressureless sintering, a silicon carbide powder, containing from about 0.5 to about 5.0 percent by weight of excess carbon, is mixed to form a homogeneous mixture with beryllium or a beryllium-containing additive so that a total of between about 0.03 and about 1.5 percent by weight of beryllium is present. The homogeneous mixture is then shaped into a green product. Suitable additives to increase flow and binding of the particles may be incorporated into the starting mixture.The green product is subsequently sintered in an inert or in a reducing atmosphere in which the partial pressure of beryllium is equal to or greater than the equilibrium vapour pressure of the beryllium contained in the silicon carbide powder compact at a temperature of between about 19500 and about 2300"C. for a time sufficient to obtain a silicon carbide product having a density greater than 75 percent of the theoretical. More particularly, a silicon carbide powder having a surface area of approximately 11 m2/gm and containing about 2.0 percent by weight excess carbon may be admixed with between about 0.04 and about 1.25 percent by weight of beryllium, suitably added as Be2C, or in elemental form. The resultant mixture is then pressed to a density of about 1.76 gm/cm3.

Binders may be used to increase the flowability of the powder or to increase the green strength of the pressed product. The pressed compacted powder is then sintered, preferably in an inert atmosphere, in which the partial pressure of beryllium during sintering is about 10-4 atmospheres or greater. The sintering operation is generally carried out at a temperature of about 2100 C. for a period of about 30 minutes. After cooling, the sintered product typically has a density of greater than 85 percent of theoretical.

The invention will now be illustrated by more specific examples which further illustrate various aspects of the invention but are not intended to limit it. Where not otherwise specified in this specification and claims, temperatures are given in degrees Celsius, and all parts and percentages are by weight.

EXAMPLE I Contral A silicon carbide powder having the following specifications was utilized as a starting material. The silicon carbide powder had a surface area greater than 8.0 m2/gm and the following analysis in percent by weight: Oxygen less than 0.8 Iron lessthan 0.2 Aluminium less than 0.4 Nickel less than 0.1 Titanium less than 0.1 Tungsten less than 0.5 Free Silicon less than 0.4 Silicon Carbide greater than. 97.5 Acomposition comprised of 95% of the silicon carbide powder characterized above was mixed in acetone with 5% of a phenolic resin known as Resin No. 8121, a product of Varcum Chemical Company. The slurry was comprised of about one part by weight mixture to about one part by weight acetone.The slurry was mixed for about 30 minutes and the acetone then allowed to evaporate. The resulting powder mixture was pressed into 1/2 inch diameter pellets weighing about 1-1/2 grams each. The pellets or powder compacts typically had a density of about 1.76 gm/cm3.

Pellets prepared by the above procedure were placed in a graphite crucible, the crucible covered and pushed through a graphite resistance. heating element tube furnace having a hot zonetemperature of 2080 C. using an argon atmosphere. The bulk density of the pellets after passing through the tube furnace was 1.83 g.m/cm3, about 57% of theoretical.

EXAMPLES 2 AND 3 Beryllium addition Six mixes having the powder composition of Example 1 were prepare, except that varying amounts of beryllium in the form of beryllium carbide, having a particle size of less than 10 microns, were added to each mix. The composition of the mixes is shown in Table I. Four pellets 1/2 inch in diameter and weighing about 1-1/2 grams each were pressed from each mix, using the techinque of Example. These pellets were divided into two sets, A and B, with two pellets per mix in each set.

The pellets from Set A were fired in a graphite resistance heating element tube furnace in accord with the procedure utilized in Exam ple 1. Pellets from Set B were fired in. a mannersimilar ta Set A, with the exception that a cover mix was used to surround the pellets in the crucible. The cover mix was in the form of a powder having the composition 97.5% silicon carbide, 2.0%. carbon and 0.5% beryllium in theforrn of beryllium carbide. The purpose of the cover mix was to increase the a mount of beryllium in.the atmosphere around the pellets.

The bulk density of the pellets was determined both before and after sintering. and is shown' in Table 1.

Thus, the pellets in Set A, fired in crucibles having no beryllium-containing atmosphere, ranged in fired density from 68.5. to 75.4% of theoretical. The pellets in Set B, fired in crucibles having a beryllium-containing atmosphere, ranged in fired density from 68.8 to 93.5%. of theoretical.

EXAMPLE 4 Additive mixtures A silicon carbide powder having a composition similar to that in Example 1 was prepared and divided into batches. Various amounts offinely-divided boron carbide and; beryllium carbide were separately added to each batch to obtain the powder compositions recited in Tab I.e I I. The various batch es were then mixed with.

a carbon source and pressed into pellets asin Example 1.

Two pellets from each batch were placed into acrucible of the same composition, covered with a crucible lid and placed within a graphite boat 4 inches in diameter and 19 inches in length. The pellets were instered by pushing the boat containing the pellets through a graphite resistance element tubefurnace operated underan arg.on atmosphere. The pellets had a residence time at 21 500C of 30 minutes. The results are shown in Table II. Thus, following this procedure, in Mix #8, a silicon carbide starting material. containing 0.10% boron, 0.10% beryllium, 2.0% carbon and 97.80% silicon carbide was peileted to a cured density of 1.72 gm/cm3, or 53.6% of theoretical.After firing, the density was found to be 2.98 gm/cm.3, or 92.8% of the theoretical density of silicon carbide.

A control sample containing only 0.5% boron and no beryllium was prepared as above described. The control sample was sintered in a manner similar to that described above, except that beryllium and boron were absent from the sintering atmosphere. After firing, the control sample was found to have a bulk density of 79.0% of theoretical.

TABLE I SET A SET B Fired Fired Starting Material Cured Density Bulk Density Cured Density Bulk Density %theo- %theo- %theo- %theo Mix % %C %Be gm/cm3 retical gm/cm3 retical gm/cm3 retical gm/cm3 retical # Sic 1 97.95 2.0 0.05 1.76 54.8 2.27 71.0 1.74 54.2 3.00 93.5 2 97.90 2.0 0.10 1.78 55.5 2.25 70.1 1.78 55.5 2.96 92.2 3 97.80 2.0 0.20 1.77 55.1 2.38 74.1 1.76 54.8 2.95 91.9 4 97.60 2.0 0.40 1.74 54.2 2.42 75.4 1.73 53.9 2.80 87.2 5 97.20 2.0 0.80 1.75 54.5 2.42 75.4 1.75 54.5 2.68 83.5 6 96.40 2.0 1.60 1.74 54.2 2.20 68.5 1.67 52.0 2.20 68.8 TABLE II Cured Density Fired Density Mix # % B % Be % C % SiC gm/cm3 % theoretical gm/cm3 % theoretical 7 0.10 0.03 2.0 97.87 1.72 53.6 2.69 83.8 8 0.10 0.10 2.0 97.80 1.71 53.3 2.98 92.8 9 0.10 0.33 2.0 97.57 1.70 53.0 3.02 94.1 10 0.20 0.03 2.0 97.87 1.72 53.6 3.15 98.1 11 0.20 0.10 2.0 97.80 1.74 54.2 3.13 97.5 12 0.20 0.33 2.0 97.57 1.73 53.9 3.08 96.0 13 0.20 1.00 2.0 96.80 1.66 51.7 2.98 92.8 The foregoing description and embodiments are intended to illustrate the invention without limiting it thereby. Various modifications can be made in the invention without departing from the spirit or scope thereof.

Claims (8)

1. A method of sintering silicon carbide powders containing beryllium or a beryllium-containing compound as densification aid to produce a high density silicon carbide ceramic material which comprises the step of sintering such powders in an atmosphere containing beryllium, wherein the partial pressure of beryllium in the atmosphere during sintering is equal to or greater than the equilibrium vapour pressure of berylliumin the powder.

2. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the partial pressure of beryllium is at least 10-4 atmosphere.

3. A method as claimed in claim 1 or 2 wherein the silicon carbide containing powders include beryllium in an amount between about 0.03 and about 1.5 percent by weight.

4. A method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3 wherein the sintering atmosphere includes an inert gas.

5. A method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 4 wherein the beryliium in the atmosphere is introduced as beryllium carbide.

6. A method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 5 wherein the silicon carbide powder also contains boron or a boron-containing compound as a densification aid in an amount of up to about 1.5 percent by weight of boron.

7. A method as claimed in claim 6 wherein boron is included in an amount between about 0.1 and about 0.3 percent by weight.

8. A method of sintering silicon carbide powder substantially as hereinbefore described.