Silicon Carbide Plate Built to Withstand Extreme Industrial Conditions

Silicon Carbide (SC) is an extremely hard, abrasion resistant material with excellent thermal conductivity properties that is commonly used in heat treatment furnaces for carburizing, nitriding and annealing processes.

Silicon carbide crystallizes in multiple polytypes; hexagonal and rhombohedral forms are more familiar forms. Furthermore, silicon carbide also exists naturally as the rare mineral moissanite.

Hardness

Power plants often utilize these tubes due to their strength, durability and thermal conductivity; additionally, they offer excellent resistance to abrasion and corrosion.

Silicon Carbide (SiC) is an extremely hard, black synthetic crystal first mass-produced as an abrasive in the late 19th century. While small quantities of SiC exist naturally as moissanite mineral deposits, most industrial production relies upon recrystallization, sintering and reaction bonding techniques to produce it in vast amounts.

SiC is one of the hardest ceramic materials, boasting a Mohs hardness rating of 9.5 on the Mohs scale – placing it alongside diamond and boron carbide as one of the hardest materials. Because of its extreme hardness and resistance to wear and corrosion, SiC has become popular as an additive material in grinding tools as well as other mechanical applications like jet turbine nozzle vanes or composite armor production.

SiC is a material with an impressive Young’s modulus of 440 GPa and flexural strength of 490 MPa, and comes in many different forms and stacking sequences that create distinct polytypes. Hexagonal and rhombohedral structures known as the a-form are more frequently encountered; however, cubic SiC structures (known as b-form) have become increasingly prominent over time.

Corrosion Resistance

Silicon carbide offers exceptional resistance to corrosion, oxidation and chemical attack. Furthermore, this dense material can withstand high temperatures while remaining thermal expansion rate free despite prolonged exposure.

Naturally occurring in moissanite, SiC is produced synthetically using various manufacturing processes, including hot pressing, hot isostatic pressing (HIP), and reaction-bonded sintering. Each manufacturing technique results in precision zero-porosity ceramic that demonstrates exceptional wear and corrosion resistance.

Silicon Carbide was first recognized for its electrical properties in the late 19th century and quickly found use as lightning arresters in electric power systems. Columns of SiC inserted between high voltage power lines have a voltage-dependent resistance that drops to an acceptable threshold when lightning strikes occur, diverting current away from passing directly through power lines towards earth instead. This technology continues to be employed today in high voltage applications while SiC also finds use as cut-off wheels, grinding discs, refractory materials, and automotive components.

Thermal Conductivity

Silicon carbide plates can withstand high temperatures without deforming or becoming damaged in use, thanks to their low thermal expansion coefficient. Their durability and hardness also makes them suitable for applications involving rapid fluctuations in temperature changes, making silicon carbide plates the perfect choice.

Due to their extreme hardness, silicon carbide plates make an excellent abrasive for cutting materials with low tensile strength, such as cast iron and brass. Furthermore, these materials can also be found in refractory products and crucibles; additionally, silicon Carbide ceramic membrane tubes formed via high temperature sintering make excellent gas/liquid filters due to their resistance against corrosion in aggressive media as well as being capable of withstanding extreme pressure/temperature variations.

Silicon Carbide has also seen impressive success in power electronics. Due to its ability to withstand higher voltages and temperatures, silicon carbide makes an excellent material choice for energy conversion systems found on electric vehicles (EVs). This increases efficiency while simultaneously creating smaller components which contribute greater battery range.

Wear Resistance

Silicon carbide is an incredible hard material, and its ability to resist corrosion in harsh industrial environments makes it an excellent choice for components in power generation industries. Furthermore, its longevity and durability also make it suitable for chemical and paper industries.

Ceramic materials provide excellent heat resistance. Their unique atomic structure and extraordinary strength enable it to absorb energy without deforming or melting, making this ceramic an invaluable choice for military and civilian body armor applications.

Silicon carbide (SiC) is composed of silicon and carbon, and production methods vary accordingly. Reaction Bonded SiC is one such method with relatively coarse grains; Hot Pressed/HIP methods offer better control and finer grains, while recrystallization/sintering techniques involve shaping SiC powder into desired shapes and then heating it at high temperatures until dense, solid structures have formed.