YANG Mengmeng ¹ , AN Di ^{1, 2} , LUO Xudong ^{1, 2} , XIE Zhipeng ² , FENG Dong ¹
(1. School of High Temperature Materials and Magnesium Resource Engineering, Liaoning University of Science and Technology,
Anshan 114051, Liaoning, China;2. Key Laboratory of New Ceramics and Fine Processing, School of Materials Science and
Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China)

Abstract: In order to improve the comprehensive property, the ZrO₂-mullite ceramic was prepared by mechanical shaping method and pressureless sintering in nitrogen atmosphere, using nano-mullite and ZrO₂ fiber as materials, and SiC as an additive. The effect of SiC whisker on the property, crystalline phase composition and microstructure of the specimens was investigated by analyzing the relative density,apparent porosity, XRD and SEM. Results indicated that the relative density of the ceramic specimens was decreased and the apparent porosity was increased with the doping of SiC whisker. The fracture toughness of ZrO₂-mullite ceramic was increased with the introduction of SiC whisker and the phase translation of ZrO₂. The optimal thermal shock resistance of ZrO₂-mullite ceramic reached 50 times when 20vol.%SiC whisker was introduced to the ceramic.

Key words: SiC whisker; mullite ceramic; thermal shock resistance; sintering property