Fabrication and thermal shock resistance of HfB2-SiC composite with B4C additives

A HfB2 based ceramic matrix composite containing 20 vol.% SiC particles with 2 vol.% B4C as sintering additives was fabricated by hot-pressed sintering. The microstructure and properties, especially the thermal shock resistance of the composite were investigated. Results showed that the addition of B4C improved the powder sinterability and led to obtaining nearly full dense composite. The flexural strength and fracture toughness of the composite were 771 MPa and 7.06 MPam1/2, respectively. The thermal shock resistance tests indicated that the residual strength decreased significantly when the thermal shock temperature difference was higher than 600 °C. The large number of microcracks on the sample surface was the main reason for the catastrophic failure.