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Journal of Advanced Ceramics 2014, 3(2): 165-170 https://doi.org/10.1007/s40145-014-0108-y
Research Article | Open Access | Issue | Published: 01 June 2014

In-situ synthesis and sintering of mullite glass composites by SPS

Show Author's Information Jinyong ZHANGa( ),  Hai ZHANa,  Zhengyi FUa,  Richard TODDb
State Key Laboratory of Advanced Technology for Materials Synthesis and Processing, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan 430070, China
Department of Materials, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
Keywords:
spark plasma sintering (SPS), synthesis, extra-field, mullite
Cite this article:
ZHANG J, ZHAN H, FU Z, et al. In-situ synthesis and sintering of mullite glass composites by SPS. Journal of Advanced Ceramics, 2014, 3(2): 165-170. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40145-014-0108-y
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Abstract Full text About this article

The main subject of this work is an investigation of the effects of heating rate and current on the crystallisation of amorphous precursors in spark plasma sintering (SPS). For this, dry gel of Al2O3–SiO2 with a molar ratio of 1:1, was synthesized and sintered in-situ by SPS, and also by hot pressing (HP) for comparison. Phase analysis showed that the only crystalline product in both cases was mullite, whose Al2O3 content was lower in the SPS specimens. The microstructures showed a low volume fraction of large mullite fibers in the SPS specimens, whereas a high volume fraction of fine equiaxed grains was present in the HP specimen. The main difference in microstructure between HP and SPS specimens could be explained in terms of the higher heating rate of the SPS specimens. The size of the SPS die also affected the size and aspect ratio of the mullite fibers produced, which might have been due to either the different electrical current required or a difference in specimen temperature profile.


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About this article

In-situ synthesis and sintering of mullite glass composites by SPS

Show Author's information Jinyong ZHANGa( ), Hai ZHANa, Zhengyi FUa, Richard TODDb
State Key Laboratory of Advanced Technology for Materials Synthesis and Processing, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan 430070, China
Department of Materials, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK

Abstract

The main subject of this work is an investigation of the effects of heating rate and current on the crystallisation of amorphous precursors in spark plasma sintering (SPS). For this, dry gel of Al2O3–SiO2 with a molar ratio of 1:1, was synthesized and sintered in-situ by SPS, and also by hot pressing (HP) for comparison. Phase analysis showed that the only crystalline product in both cases was mullite, whose Al2O3 content was lower in the SPS specimens. The microstructures showed a low volume fraction of large mullite fibers in the SPS specimens, whereas a high volume fraction of fine equiaxed grains was present in the HP specimen. The main difference in microstructure between HP and SPS specimens could be explained in terms of the higher heating rate of the SPS specimens. The size of the SPS die also affected the size and aspect ratio of the mullite fibers produced, which might have been due to either the different electrical current required or a difference in specimen temperature profile.

Keywords: spark plasma sintering (SPS), synthesis, extra-field, mullite

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Publication history
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Publication history

Received: 24 March 2014
Revised: 25 April 2014
Accepted: 27 April 2014
Published: 01 June 2014
Issue date: June 2014

Copyright

© The author(s) 2014

Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the support of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (U12301013) and the State Key Lab of Material Synthesis and Technology (Contract No. 201106) for the financial support. The authors also want to thank Dr. Bryan Tsu Te Chu from the Department of Materials, University of Oxford, for discussions.

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Open Access: This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits any use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author(s) and the source are credited.

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