Fracture Mechanics and Strength of Materials

Influence of SiC Quality on the Mechanical Properties and Oxidation Resistance of Ultra-High Temperature Composites Based on HfB₂–Si Cobtained by Hot Pressing

Pavlo Barvitskyi1, Tetiana Prikhna1, Hakan Unsal2, Anastasia Lokatkina1, Sergiy Rychev1, Victor Bilorusets1

1. V. Bakul Institute for Superhard Materials of NAS of Ukraine
2. Institute of Inorganic Chemistry, Slovak Academy of Sciences

https://doi.org/10.15407/msse2025.01.217

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Keywords

ultra-high-temperature HfB₂–SiC composites; hot pressing; microhardness; fracture toughness; thermal resistance (ablation resistance)

Abstract

The effect of SiC content and powder characteristics on HfB₂–SiC composites was studied. The best composite (HfB₂ + 30 wt.% SiC, 5-10 μm) showed high density (6.54 g/cm3), hardness (Hv = 38.6 GPa), fracture toughness (K1с = 7.7 MPa·m⁰·⁵), and Young’s modulus (510 GPa). Ablation tests revealed superior thermal stability compared to pure HfB₂ and composites with finer or differently shaped SiC powders. Enhanced performance is due to optimal SiC morphology, solid solution formation, and uniform phase distribution.

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