INFLUENCE OF SILICON CONTENT AND TEMPERATURE ON THE SINTERING OF SILICON CARBIDE PLATES VIA SPS FOR MULTILAYER ARMOR SYSTEMS.

Silicon carbide (SiC) is an advanced ceramic material widely used due to its high hardness, low density, and excellent thermal stability. Conventional sintering presents some limitations such as high processing temperature and excessive grain growth [1]. To minimize these limitations, the Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS) technique was adopted, as it is an efficient alternative that allows obtaining densified parts in reduced times and with greater microstructural control [2,3]. In this work, SiC composites with metallic silicon (Si) additions in proportions of 5% and 25% by volume were produced and sintered at temperatures of 1500 °C, 1700 °C, and 1900 °C. The samples were characterized regarding their microstructural and physical properties using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and density and porosity tests (Archimedes method). The results showed that both Si addition and increased sintering temperature significantly influenced the densification of the hexagonal plates. Samples with 5% Si exhibited greater microstructural homogeneity and better density, while those with 25% Si showed a higher tendency toward pore formation and secondary phases. Among the evaluated conditions, sintering with 5% Si at 1900 °C showed the best performance, reaching an apparent density of 88.73% and a minimum porosity of 0.03. These results indicate this condition as the most promising for applications in multilayer armor systems. References 1. GONÇALVES, D. C.; SALEIRO, G. T.; MATIAS, P. C.; GOMES, A. V.; RAMOS, V.;CAMPOS, J. B. B. d.; MELO, F. C. L. d.; LIMA, E. S. Microstructural characterizationand influence of ceramography method on the microhardness of sintering agents added silicon carbide. Materials Research, SciELO Brasil, v. 20, n. Suppl 2, p. 92–96, 2017. 2. GANGULY, M.; PARIDA, S.; SINHA, E.; ROUT, S.; SIMANSHU, A.; HUSSAIN, A.; KIM, I. Structural, dielectric and electrical properties of bafe0. 5nb0. 5o3 ceramic prepared by solid-state reaction technique. Materials Chemistry and physics, Elsevier, v. 131, n. 1-2, p. 535–539, 2011 3. HEYDARIAN, A.; SAJJADI, S. A.; JOHNSSON, M. A proposed model for spark plasma sintering of sic-si nanocomposite with different sic particle sizes. Journal of Composite Materials, SAGE Publications Sage UK: London, England, v. 54, n. 19, p. 2599–2609, 2020. Fundings: Dr. Eduardo de Sousa Lima acknowledges the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) for financial support (Process nº 302739/2023-8). Master’s student Camilla Juncal Toledo acknowledges the financial support from CAPES. The other authors thank CNPq and CAPES for financial support.