Mingliang Li

Preparation and Characterization of Polycrystalline Cubic Boron Nitride (PcBN) Compacts by a Pressureless Sintering Process

A novel cost-effective pressureless sintering method has been developed to prepare polycrystalline cubic boron nitride (PcBN) compacts. The effect of feldspar as sintering aids was analyzed in this paper. Various amounts of feldspar from 5 to 15 wt% were added to cBN powders, and the pressureless sintering was conducted at temperatures ranging from 900°C to 1200°C under an air atmosphere. The microstructure, phase, density and microhardness of the as-obtained PcBN compacts were measured and correlated to amounts of Si added and to sintering temperatures. The sample showed superior sintering behavior in comparison to those fabricated using hot pressed sintering. The results of X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed that feldspar diffused homogeneously and tightly bonded with cBN. But hBN appeared when the sintering temperature even at 900°C, which dramatically affected the property of PcBN compacts. A PcBN compact with a relative density of 91% was obtained at 1100°C and its microhardness was as high as 1000HV.

Preparation and Thermoelectric Properties of SiC Matrix Composites Prepared under a Low Sintering Temperature

SiC powders with nickel powders and sintering aids were prepared by pressureless sintering at 1500oC under a N2 atmosphere. XRD, TEM, SEM techniques were used to characterize the phases and microstructure of the specimens. The thermoelectric properties of SiC matrix composites were investigated by measuring the Seebeck coefficient and the electrical conductivity. The main phase of all samples was -SiC, the Ni2Si can be observed with adding nickel powders. The largest electric conductivity was close to 3.5 m-1-1 at about 973K. The highest Seeback coefficient was up to 1800 V/K at 1073K. The transition from n-type to p-type was occurred.

Preparation and Microwave-Absorption Property of SiO2-SiC-Based Composites

SiO2-SiC composite particles were prepared using a sol-gel process. BaTiO3 powders were synthesize through solid-state reaction. They were mixed as microwave absorbents with Fe3O4 powders to obtain the complex absorption. Epoxide resin (EP) was used as matrix and solidified with the mixtures. The techniques of DSC-TG, XRD were used to characterize the composite particles and the obtained compacts. A vector network analyzer was used to measure the reflectivity of the SiO2-SiC-based composites. The effects of the aborbents’ contents on the reflection of the microwave absorption materials were disscussed. It was found that SiO2-SiC composites could be prepared using sol-gel process and BaTiO3 powders could be synthesize through solid-state reaction. The results indicated that SiO2-SiC composite is contribute to absorb microwave, where SiO2-SiC: BaTiO3: Fe3O4 = 6:2:2 (vol %), the frequency region in which the maximum reflectivity is more than -10 dB is 5.4-7.6 GHz.