Improved sliding-wear resistance in in situ-toughened silicon carbide

The effect of microstructure on the sliding-wear properties has been studied in two types of pressureless liquid-phase-sintered (LPS) SiC ceramics, one with coarse, in situ-grown elongated grains and the other with fine, equiaxed grains. Elongated-grain LPS SiC has been found to have dramatically improved sliding-wear properties over equiaxed-grain LPS SiC, which has been attributed to the interlocking network of elongated SiC grains. The introduction of an interlocking network of elongated grains represents a new guideline for the microstructural design of polycrystalline ceramics that are both sliding-wear resistant and toughened.