Combustion Synthesis of h-BN-SiC Ceramic Composites

The feasibility was demonstrated to fabricate h-BN-SiC ceramics through combustion synthesis of the mixture of boron carbide and silicon powders under 100 MPa nitrogen pressure. The mass fraction of BN and SiC in the combustion products were found to be 72 % and 28 % respectively. The thermodynamics of the synthesis reaction and the adiabatic combustion temperature were calculated on the theoretical ground. The bending strengths of the ceramics were measured to be 65.2 MPa at room temperature and 55 MPa at 1350 ℃. The phase composition and microstructure of the combustion products were identified by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM).