High energy Ball milling of ZrB 2 and HfB 2 Powders: Effect on Particle Size and Crystalline Grain Distribution
Introduction: Ultra High Temperature Ceramics (UHTCs) such as ZrB2 and HfB2 with incorporation of SiC are being considered as structural materials for applications in propulsion and thermal protection systems such as turbine engine hot section components, leading edge of hypersonic vehicles, where extremely high heat fluxes generate very high temperatures and steep temperature gradients [1] We used high energy ball milling of the precursor powders to increase lattice distortion enhanced inter diffusion, uniform distribution of SiC, and reduce grain growth during Spark plasma sintering (SPS) Here, we study the effect of high energy ball milling of ZrB2 or HfB2 with 20 vol% SiC on the particle size and crystalline grain distribution.
Microscopy and Microanalysis