Metal-ceramic composites with permanent connection fabrication using spark plasma sintering

The article presents a study on obtaining silicon carbide ceramics, including those with a reinforcing additive (10 wt. % SiCw whiskers), and metal-ceramic composites with a permanent connection based on this ceramics and heat-resistant alloy ZhS6U-VI using spark plasma sintering technology. The dynamics of SiC powder consolidation under SPS conditions, as well as the phase composition, structure, density and microhardness of the formed samples of SiC ceramics and its reinforced form SiC/SiCw are studied. A method for obtaining metal-ceramic composites with a permanent connection based on the obtained samples of ceramics and heat-resistant alloy ZhS6U-VI under SPS conditions is implemented. SEM and EDS methods showed that obtaining composites with defect-free boundaries of permanently connected layers of ceramics and heat-resistant alloy is achieved by forming intermediate layers of Ti-Ag and Ni-Ag binders, as well as a damper layer of Mo to compensate for a significant difference in CTLE’s values. The structural integrity of the composites was studied using electron microscopy and X-ray microtomography. As a result, it was found that the composition of SiC ceramics without the addition of SiCw whiskers is more structurally homogeneous and less brittle for obtaining a SiC—ZhS6U-VI composite with a permanent connection using the SPS technology.