Preparation of β SiAlON-cBN Composites by Spark Plasma Sintering

Abstract

SiAlON-cubic boron nitride (cBN) composite was prepared by spark plasma sintering (SPS) using -SiAlON and cBN powders as starting materials, and the effect of holding time on densification, phase transformation and hardness of the composite was investigated. The SiAlON-cBN composite containing 20 vol% cBN sintered at 1650oC for 60s was densified to >97% of theoretical density. cBN phase transformed to hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) in the SiAlON-cBN composite with increasing holding time at 1650oC. Vickers hardness of the SiAlON-20vol%cBN composite sintered at 1650oC for 60-300s was 17.7GPa, and the hardness decreased with increasing holding time.