FIBER-REINFORCED CERAMIC GREEN BODY

Abstract: A fiber-reinforced ceramic green body containing fine ceramic fibers uniformly dispersed in a ceramic matrix. The green body is composed of 50 weight % or more of a ceramic main component such as Si₃N₄ and 50 weight % or less of at least one ceramic additive such as Aℓ₂O₃ and Y₂O₃, at least part of one or both of said ceramic main component and said ceramic additive being in the form of fine fibers. This green body is produced by a slip casting method.

Description: The present invention relates to a ceramic green body with improved mechanical strength and a method of producing it, and more particularly to a ceramic green body reinforced by fibrous ceramic additives and a method of producing it. Ceramic sintered bodies are generally produced by first forming green bodies of certain shapes from ceramic powder and then sintering them. Since ceramics are not easy to work once sintered, they should be formed into desired shapes before sintering. Known as methods of producing such ceramic green bodies are a die pressing method, an injection molding method, a slip casting method in which ceramic slips are cast into gypsum molds, a cold isostatic pressing method by rubber presses, etc. In order to produce green bodies with extremely small thickness or complicated shapes, the slip casting method, the injection molding method, a molding method by a doctor blade, etc. are preferable. In particular, the slip casting method is preferable because it can produce green bodies of thin and complicated shapes with extreme easiness. It may be carried out by dispersing ceramic starting material powder in water and casting the resulting slip into a gypsum mold, thereby causing the gypsum mold to absorb and remove water to provide a green body. Particularly when silicon nitride ceramic green bodies are produced, silicon nitride powder is mixed with sintering aides such as Y₂O₃, etc. and other additive powder, and then the above slip casting method is conducted. However, when a ceramic green body is produced by such a slip casting method, the strength of bonding of ceramic powder particles is not necessarily large even though a binder, etc. is added to the ceramic slip, and so the resulting green body is likely to be cracked or broken because of poor mechanical strength. Further, because of dewatering and drying in the gypsum mold, the ceramic green body is shrunk, thus making it susceptible to cracking. Thus, it has been difficult to produce thin green bodies or those having complicated shapes without danger of breakage or cracking. Incidentally, composite ceramics containing ceramic whiskers such as SiC whiskers are known. The ceramic whiskers serve as reinforcing fillers in the sintered ceramics. However, in the green bodies, the ceramic whiskers do not show sufficient reinforcing effects. Particularly when the slip casting method is employed, the deformation, cracking and even breakage of the green bodies are not effectively prevented by the addition of ceramic whiskers. On the other hand, the addition of fibrous zirconia in the form of tow, yarn, woven fabrics, felts, roving, knits, braids, paper and the like to cement composites is known (U.S. Patent 3,736,160). However, in the cement composites, fibrous zirconia is not uniformly dispersed in a matrix, and rather it is impregnated with ceramic compounds. Therefore, it is difficult to produce green bodies of extremely thin or complicated shapes with fibrous zirconia in the form of tow, yarn, etc. impregnated with ceramic compounds. Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to overcome the above problems of such conventional techniques, thereby providing a ceramic green body with sufficient mechanical strength and cracking resistance. More particularly, the object of the present invention is to provide a fiber-reinforced ceramic green body suffering from no cracking or breakage. Another object of the present invention is to provide a method of producing such a fiber-reinforced ceramic green body with high precision and high yield. As a result of intense research in view of the above objects, the inventors of the present invention have found that the addition of ceramic fibers to a ceramic matrix serves to provide the resulting ceramic green body with sufficient mechanical strength and cracking resistance. The present invention is based upon this finding. Thus according to one aspect the present invention provides a fiber-reinforced ceramic green body comprising a ceramic matrix component and at least one ceramic additive component, at least part of said ceramic additive component being in the form of ceramic fibers having an average diameter of 3 to 10 microns, said ceramic fibers being uniformly dispersed in said ceramic matrix component. According to another aspect there is provided a method of producing a fiber-reinforced ceramic green body, said method comprising the steps of: (a) preparing a slip of a ceramic matrix component and a ceramic additive component, at least part of said ceramic additive component being in the form of ceramic fibers having an average diameter of 3 to 10 microns, said ceramic fibers being uniformly dispersed in said slip; and (b) casting the thus-produced slip into a mold of the desired shape to produce said ceramic green body. The thus produced green body may then be dewatered and dried. The invention will now be illustrated with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Fig 1 is a graph showing the relation between the amount of fibrous alumina and mechanical strength of the silicon nitride ceramic green body; Fig. 2 is a graph showing the relation between the amount of fibrous alumina and deflection of the silicon nitride ceramic green body; and Fig. 3 is a graph showing the relation between the amount of fibrous alumina and a density of silicon nitride ceramic green body. The present invention is applicable to any type of ceramic green body. The ceramic additive component may be a sintering aid. At least part of the ceramic additive component need be fibrous, and the percentage of fibrous material present can be determined properly from the viewpoint of dispersability and moldability. The present invention will be described in detail with respect to a silicon nitride ceramic green body. Silicon nitride powder may be of α-type or β-type crystal structure, and it may be produced by any methods, such as a method of nitriding Si, a method of reducing silica and nitriding it, a heat decomposition method of silicon diimide, a vapor phase reaction method of SiH₄ + NH₃ + N₂, etc. The silicon nitride powder preferably has an average particle size of 3-0.01 µm, and more preferably 1.5-0.1 µm. Suitable ceramic additive components include alumina, yttria, magnesia, calcia, aluminium nitride, etc. The ceramic additive component may include those materials serving as sintering aids. At least part of the ceramic additive component should be fibrous. Other non-fibrous ceramic components can be present. Which ceramic components should be fibrous can be determined depending upon the composition and sintering conditions of the ceramic green body. For instance, in the case of Si₃N₄ + Y₂O₃ + Aℓ₂O₃, Aℓ₂O₃ is desirably fibrous. In this case, Y₂O₃ may also be fibrous totally or partially. The ceramic fibers have an average diameter of 3 to 10 microns preferably 3 to 5 microns, and the fiber length is conveniently 10-500 µm, particularly 100-300 µm. When the average diameter and the fiber length are too large, the dispersability of the ceramic fibers is reduced, making more likely the defects of the sintered products, and also reducing their sintering densities. On the other hand, when the average diameter and the fiber length are too small, sufficient reinforcing effects cannot be obtained by the addition of the ceramic fibers. In the silicon nitride ceramic green body , silicon nitride powder may be 50 weight % or more, and the ceramic additive component may be 50 weight % or less. Further, at least part of the ceramic additive component is fibrous. Specifically, 0.1 weight % or more, based on the resulting green body, of the ceramic additive component should be of ceramic fibers as defined above. When the percentage of such ceramic fibers is lower than 0.1 weight %, sufficient reinforcing effects cannot be obtained, making more likely the breakage and cracking in the resulting ceramic green bodies. Particularly when the silicon nitride ceramic green body consists essentially of Si₃N₄, Y₂O₃ and Aℓ₂O₃, it is preferred that Si₃N₄ powder is 50 weight % or more, and Aℓ₂O₃ + Y₂O₃ is 0.1-50 weight % or less, Aℓ₂O₃ being 0.1-30 weight % in the form of fibers of average diameter 3-10 microns, and Y₂O₃ being 0.1-50 weight % in the form of powder. However, even when Y₂O₃ is fibrous partially or totally, the object of the present invention can be achieved. Incidentally, in this case, the Si₃N₄ powder desirably has an average particle size of 0.01-3 µm. The ceramic green body of the present invention may further contain, in addition to the above components, organic binders such as wax or resins, and organic or metallic fibers. Next, the method of producing the ceramic green body according to the present invention will be explained below. First, powder of the ceramic matrix component and fibers of the ceramic additive component are uniformly dispersed in a dispersing medium such as water or an organic solvent to produce a slip. In this case, all of the ceramic starting materials may be added simultaneously, or well-dispersable Si₃N₄ powder and Y₂O₃ powder are added first and then Aℓ₂O₃ fibers are added to achieve its good dispersion. When water is used as a dispersing medium, it is preferably an ammonia aqueous solution. Since NH₄OH serves to provide good dispersibility, a ceramic slurry of a high concentration and a low viscosity can be prepared. After drying, a high-density green body can be obtained. In addition, the sintered product does not contain impurities such as carbon, sodium, potassium, etc. Thus, the high-purity sintered product can be obtained. Further, since the oxidation of silicon nitride can be prevented, the sintered product can have excellent high-temperature strength. Incidentally, if silicon nitride is oxidized, vitrous silica is formed, reducing the high-temperature strength of the resulting sintered product. In the case of using a polar organic solvent such as formamide as a dispersing medium, too, the oxidation of silicon nitride is prevented so that the high-temperature strength of the sintered product can be obtained. In addition to the above components, binders, for example, may be added properly. In the present invention, the concentration of the slip is not particularly restricted, but it is preferably 40-60 volume % from the viewpoint of moldability. In the present invention, the formation of the green body may be carried out by injection molding, slip casting, casting with a doctor blade, for example, but when the slip casting method is employed, particularly good results are obtained. In the case of the slip casting method, the slip is cast into the mold made of a water-absorbing, water-permeable material. Since the dispersing medium is removed from the slip through the mold, the slip is dewatered. After that, it is removed from the mold and fully dried. In the dewatering and drying step, the green body is susceptible to breakage and cracking. However, since the ceramic green body of the present invention is fully reinforced by uniformly dispersed ceramic fibers of average diameter 3-10 microns, its breakage and cracking can be sufficiently prevented. The silicon nitride ceramic green body is finally sintered. In the sintering step, the ceramic fibers in the green body are melted and lose their fibrous shape, thereby occupying grain boundaries between the Si₃N₄ grains. Thus, the sintered product can have as good mechanical strength and heat resistance as those of ceramic sintered bodies produced without using ceramic fibers. Besides the silicon nitride ceramics, the present invention is applicable to aluminum titanate containing alumina fibers. In this case, the size and amount of alumina fibers are the same as those described above. According to the present invention, since the green body, which would be easily broken and cracked if made only of ceramic powder, is reinforced by ceramic fibers of defined diameter, the ceramic green body has extremely improved mechanical strength, elongation, and resistance to strain. In addition, the shrinkage of the ceramic green body at the time of drying can be minimized. As a result, the breakage and cracking of the green body are drastically reduced. This seems to be due to the fact that the ceramic fibers uniformly dispersed in the ceramic powder matrix are properly intertwined with each other, so that mechanical strength such as tensile strength, fracture strength, etc. of the green body is improved, and also the elongation (deflection) at fracture is also increased. In addition, the ceramic fibers lose their fibrous shape by sintering, they do not affect the strength of the resulting sintered body. The present invention will be further explained by the following non-limiting Examples. Example 1 3 weight % of yttria powder (average particle size: 1.0 µm) was added to 92 weight % of silicon nitride powder (average particle size: 0.3 µm), and uniformly mixed in water by ball-milling. Next, 5 weight % of alumina fibers (average diameter: 3 µm, average fiber length: 100 µm) were added and mixed with the above mixture for 1 hour to produce a slip. The slip was then cast into a gypsum mold to produce a pillar-shaped green body by a slip casting method. After removal from the gypsum mold, it was dried by elevating its temperature from room temperature to 180°C and keeping it at that temperature for 1 hour. The resulting green body was measured with respect to bending strength, deflection up to fracture and shrinkage by drying. The results are as follows: Bending strength 0.7 kg/mm² Deflection up to fracture* 0.07 mm Shrinkage 0.4% Note*: Deflection up to fracture was measured on a test piece of 10 mm x 10 mm x 50 mm by a 3-point bending method (span length: 33.6 mm). This green body was not broken or cracked in handling, and after drying its shrinkage was small. Next, this green body was sintered in a nitrogen gas atmosphere at 1850°C for 10 hours. The resulting silicon nitride sintered body had a density of 94% or more, and it had good shape precision. Example 2 Green bodies were produced under the same conditions as in Example 1 except for changing the amount of alumina fibers from 0 weight % to 30 weight %. The resulting green bodies were measured with respect to bending strength and deflection. The results are shown in Figs. 1 and 2. From the above results, it has been found that to achieve good bending strength and deflectability, the amount of alumina fibers is preferably 0.1 weight % or more. Example 3 Green bodies were produced under the same conditions as in Example 1 except for changing the amount of alumina fibers. Incidentally, when the alumina fibers were less than 5 weight %, the alumina powder (average particle size: 0.4 µm) was added to keep the total amount of alumina fibers and alumina powder at 5 weight %. The resulting green bodies were measured to determine the relation between the amount of alumina fibers and the density of the green body. The results are shown in Fig. 3. Comparative Example 1 Green bodies were produced in the same manner as in Example 1 except for using 5 weight % of alumina powder having an average particle size of 0.4 µm instead of alumina fibers. The resulting green bodies were measured with respect to bending strength, deflection up to fracture and shrinkage by drying. The results are as follows: Bending strength 0.3 kg/mm² Deflection up to fracture 0.02 mm Shrinkage 0.7% The green bodies were easily broken in handling, and their shrinkage by drying was large, thus causing cracking. Accordingly, the yield of the green bodies was extremely low. As described above in detail, since the ceramic green body of the present invention contains ceramic fibers of average diameter 3-10 microns uniformly dispersed in a ceramic matrix component, it not only shows high mechanical strength and large elongation, deflection up to fracture, but also small shrinkage. Accordingly, even when the ceramic green body of the present invention is extremely thin or has a complicated shape, it is less likely to be broken or cracked. Further, according to the method of the present invention, since the ceramic green body is produced by using a slip containing a ceramic matrix component, generally a powder, and ceramic fibers of a certain diameter, the green body does not suffer from cracking by dewatering and drying, and it is less likely to be broken. In addition, since the ceramic fibers in the green body are melted by sintering, they are diffused in the grain boundaries between ceramic crystal grains. Therefore, the sintered bodies obtained from the ceramic green bodies of the present invention show good mechanical strength and heat resistance. Particularly when the ceramic green bodies are made of silicon nitride, they are highly suitable for producing automobile parts such as rotor blades of turbochargers, for example.

Claims: A fiber-reinforced ceramic green body comprising a ceramic matrix component and at least one ceramic additive component, at least part of said ceramic additive component being in the form of ceramic fibers having an average diameter of 3 to 10 microns, said ceramic fibers being uniformly dispersed in said ceramic matrix component. A fiber-reinforced ceramic green body as claimed in claim 1 wherein said ceramic fibers have a fiber length of 10-500 microns. A fiber-reinforced ceramic green body as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2 wherein said ceramic fibers have a fiber length of 100-300 microns. A fiber-reinforced ceramic green body as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein said green body is composed of 50 weight % or more of said ceramic matrix component and 50 weight % or less of said ceramic additive component. A fiber-reinforced ceramic green body as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein said ceramic additive component is a sintering aid. A fiber-reinforced ceramic green body as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein said ceramic matrix component is selected from Si₃N₄, sialon, SiC, Al₂O₃, ZrO₂ and mullite. A fiber-reinforced ceramic green body as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein said ceramic matrix component is Si₃N₄, and said ceramic additive component is Al₂O₃. A fiber-reinforced ceramic green body as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein said green body is a slip-cast silicon nitride ceramic containing 0.1-30 weight % of Al₂O₃ fibers having an average fiber diameter of 3 to 10 microns. A method of producing a fiber-reinforced ceramic green body, said method comprising the steps of: (a) preparing a slip of a ceramic matrix component and a ceramic additive component, at least part of said ceramic additive component being in the form of ceramic fibers having an average diameter of 3 to 10 microns, said ceramic fibers being uniformly dispersed in said slip; and (b) casting the thus-produced slip into a mold of the desired shape to produce said ceramic green body. A method as claimed in claim 9, wherein said slip is cast into a gypsum mold.

Inventors: KAWAKAMI, YASUNOBU, KONO, YUKI, NAKAMOTO, TAKASHI, OHTA, MASAHIRO
Applicants: HONDA GIKEN KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
Application year: 1989
Main classification: C04B35
IPC codes: C04B35, B28B1