Method of manufacturing a ceramic composite

Abstract: A composite ceramic material comprises a matrix of ceramic particles and particles of a different ceramic hav­ ing a lower sintering temperature than that of the matrix ceramic, the particles of the different ceramic being dis­ persed in the matrix of ceramic particles. According to a method of manufacturing such a composite ceramic material, material particles of one of elements of a matrix ceramic and particles of a disperse ceramic whose sintering tempera­ ture is lower than that of the matrix ceramic are mixed together, and the mixture is pressed into a preliminary shaped body. Then, the preliminary shaped body is placed in a sinter reaction furnace, and the particles in the prelimi­ nary shaped body are subjected to sinter reaction in the sinter reaction furnace, thereby producing a preliminary sintered body in which the particles of the lower sintering temperature are dispersed in the matrix ceramic which is generated by the sinter reaction. Thereafter, the prelimi­ nary sintered body is fully sintered to make its structure dense, thereby producing a composite ceramic.

Description: The present invention relates to a composite ceramic material which comprises a matrix of ceramic particles and particles of a different ceramic having a lower sintering temperature than that of the matrix ceramic, the particles of the different ceramic being dispersed in the matrix of ceramic particles, and a method of manufacturing such a composite ceramic material. Description of the Prior Art: As is well known in the art, powders of two or more different ceramics may be mixed and sintered at different sintering temperatures, thereby producing a complex ceramic which exhibits the characteristics of both the ceramics which are mixed. According to one known method, silicon carbide which is sintered at about 2000°C and silicon nitride which is sintered in a temperature range from 1700°C to 1850°C are mixed together, and the mixture is sintered. The sintered composite ceramic comprises minute particles of silicon carbide which are dispersed in the matrix of silicon nitride. The composite ceramic has a high mechanical strength possessed by silicon nitride, but exhibits a low thermal conductivity of 0.04 cal/cm·sec·°C, which is much lower than 0.07 cal/cm·sec·°C possessed by silicon nitride itself. It is known that if a composite ceramic is to have a high heat insulation capability so that it can be used as a material for a heat-insulated engine component, then zirconium oxide (hereinafter referred to as "zirconia") may be added. According to another method, ceramic fibers of silicon carbide are impregnated with silicon nitride by chemical vapor impregnation (CVI), thereby producing composite ceramic fibers with a silicon nitride matrix. With the former method, the sintering temperature of the ceramic particles to be dispersed must be higher than that of the matrix ceramic, i.e., a ceramic whose sintering temperature is lower than the sintering temperature of a matrix ceramic cannot be dispersed in the matrix ceramic. For example, if a mixture of silicon nitride and zirconia is sintered, since the sintering temperature of zirconia is lower than that of silicon nitride, zirconia is separated out in the grain boundary of silicon nitride. The mechanical strength of the sintered mixture is thus much lower than that of a sintered body formed solely of silicon nitride. The latter method requires a long period of time to carry out its steps. Therefore, the cost of a composite ceramic component produced by this method is high. It is an object of the present invention to provide a method of manufacturing a composite ceramic material which comprises a solid dense sintered body composed of composite particles including a matrix of ceramic particles and particles of a different ceramic having a lower sintering temperature than that of the matrix ceramic, the particles of the different ceramic being dispersed in the matrix of ceramic particles. WO-A-8706928 discloses a composite silicone nitride and zirconia ceramic and method for manufacturing the same. According to the present invention, there is provided a method of manufacturing a composite ceramic of two different ceramics, the method comprising the steps of: pressing a mixture of particles of silicon as one of the elements of a first ceramic of silicon nitride serving as a matrix, and particles of a second ceramic of zirconium oxide which has a sintering temperature lower than the sintering temperature of the first ceramic; heating the pressed mixture at substantially 1400°C in a gaseous atmosphere containing nitrogen to convert the silicon particles to a first silicon nitride ceramic thereby producing a preliminary sintered body in which the particles of the second ceramic are disposed in the first ceramic; and sintering the preliminary sintered body at substantially 1750°C, and under a higher pressure than the pressure in the first sinter reaction, reducing the volumes of interstices in the preliminary sintered body, and thereby producing a dense sintered body as a composite ceramic. The second ceramic has a thermal conductivity lower than the thermal conductivity of the first ceramic. The first ceramic is silicon nitride and the second ceramic is zirconium oxide. The zirconium oxide is partially stabilized by magnesium oxide. The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which a preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown by way of illustrative example. In the accompanying drawings:- Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the internal structure of a preliminary shaped body; Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the internal structure of a preliminary sintered body; Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram showing the internal structure of a composite ceramic manufactured according to the present invention; and Fig. 4 is a table of the bending strengths and thermal conductivities of an inventive composite ceramic and comparative sintered bodies, the bending strengths being determined by the three-point bending test. A method of manufacturing a composite ceramic material according to the present invention will be described with reference to Figs. 1 through 3. As shown in Fig. 1, material particles of one of elements of a matrix ceramic and particles of a disperse ceramic whose sintering temperature is lower than that of the matrix ceramic are mixed together, and the mixture is pressed into a preliminary shaped body. Then, as shown in Fig. 2, the preliminary shaped body is placed in a sinter reaction furnace, and the particles in the preliminary shaped body are subjected to sinter reaction in the sinter reaction furnace, thereby producing a preliminary sintered body in which the particles of the lower sintering temperature are dispersed in the matrix ceramic which is generated by the sinter reaction. Thereafter, as shown in Fig. 3, the preliminary sintered body is fully sintered under the conditions in which the matrix ceramic would be sintered, so that a composite ceramic with a dense structure is produced. The composite ceramic material which is produced according to the above method of the present invention is a dense sintered body composed of composite particles wherein the particles of the disperse ceramic, whose sintering temperature is lower than that of the matrix ceramic, are dispersed in the particles of the matrix ceramic. The composite ceramic material thus produced is inexpensive to manufacture, and exhibits the characteristics of both the matrix ceramic and the disperse ceramic. Inventive Example According to Inventive Example, a matrix ceramic was silicon nitride (Si₃N₄) and a disperse ceramic was zirconia which was partially stabilized by magnesium oxide. More specifically, 90 wt % of silicon (Si) powder, and 10 wt % of zirconia including 5 wt % of yttrium oxide as a sintering assistant and 3.3 wt % of magnesium oxide as a partial stabilizer were mixed in methanol according to a wet mixing process. Thereafter, the mixture was dried by a spray dryer in a stream of nitrogen gas, and granulated into granular powder. The granular powder was then pressed into a shaped body having dimensions of 10 × 10 × 40 mm with a molding axial press. Then, the shaped body was pressed into a preliminary shaped body under 2 tons/cm² with a cold hydrostatic-pressure press (CIP). The preliminary shaped body was then put in a sinter reaction furnace in which it was heated to 1400°C in a nitrogen gas atmosphere. The particles of Si were converted to those of Si₃N₄ according to sinter reaction, so that a preliminary sintered body was produced. During the sinter reaction, the particles of zirconia powder were encased in the grown particles of Si₃N₄. The preliminary sintered body was thereafter placed in a sintering furnace containing a nitrogen gas atmosphere, and sintered for 6 hours at 1750°C. Then, it was cooled down to 1400°C at a rate of 400°C/h, and then down to 1100°C at a rate of 75°/h, after which it was kept at 1100°C for 20 hours and then cooled down to room temperature in the furnace. As a result, a sintered body A of a composite ceramic was produced. In this final sintering process, the structure of the sintered body A was rendered dense, and the zirconia of the disperse particles was partially stabilized by the magnesium oxide, so that the toughness of the sintered body A was increased. Comparative Examples A preliminary sintered body, which was produced in the above inventive process, was used as a comparative sintered body B. In addition, a comparative sintered body C was prepared by employing Si₃N₄ powder instead of the Si powder in Inventive Example, pressing the granular powder into a preliminary shaped body, and then directly fully sintering the preliminary shaped body in a sintering furnace. The sintered bodies A, B, C were subjected to the three-point bending test. The measured bending strengths of these sintered bodies A, B, C and their thermal conductivities are shown in Fig. 4. As shown in Fig. 4, the sintered body A according to Inventive Example has a lowest thermal conductivity and a highest mechanical strength. The thermal conductivity is low because the zirconia dispersed in the Si₃N₄ particles scatters the lattice vibration of Si₃N₄ due to thermal conduction. The mechanical strength is high since no zirconia is present but the bonding strength between the particles of Si₃N₄ is in the grain boundary. The comparative sintered body B, which is a preliminary sintered body, is coarse in structure and hence does not have sufficient bonding strength between the Si₃N₄ particles, with the result that the mechanical strength thereof is low. The comparative sintered body C is lower in mechanical strength than the sintered body A and its thermal conductivity is not lowered since zirconia is separated out in the grain boundary of Si₃N₄. In Inventive Example, the Si powder was employed. However, a mixture of Si powder and Si₃N₄ powder may be employed for a higher density. Aluminum oxide may be used instead of yttrium oxide as a sintering assistant. The preliminary sintered body may be fully sintered by the gas pressure sintering process, the hot pressing process, or the hot hydrostatic-pressure process (HIP). Zirconia may be partially stabilized by yttrium oxide or calcium oxide.

Claims: A method of manufacturing a composite ceramic of two different ceramics, the method comprising the steps of: pressing a mixture of particles of silicon as one of the elements of a first ceramic of silicon nitride serving as a matrix, and particles of a second ceramic of zirconium oxide which has a sintering temperature lower than the sintering temperature of the first ceramic; heating the pressed mixture at substantially 1400°C in a gaseous atmosphere containing nitrogen to convert the silicon particles to a first silicon nitride ceramic thereby producing a preliminary sintered body in which the particles of the second ceramic are dispersed in the first ceramic; and sintering the preliminary sintered body at substantially 1750°C, and under a higher pressure than the pressure in the first sinter reaction, reducing the volumes of interstices in the preliminary sintered body, and thereby producing a dense sintered body as a composite ceramic. A method according to claim 1, wherein the second ceramic has a thermal conductivity lower than the thermal conductivity of the first ceramic. A method according to claim 1, wherein the zirconium oxide is partially stabilized by magnesium oxide.

Inventors: SUZUKI SHOGO, SUZUKI, SHOGO
Applicants: ISUZU CERAMICS RES INST, ISUZU CERAMICS RESEARCH INSTITUTE CO., LTD.
Application year: 1990
Main classification: C04B35
IPC codes: C04B35