COLLOIDAL PROCESSING AND MECHANICAL-PROPERTIES OF WHISKER-REINFORCED MULLITE MATRIX COMPOSITES

Aqueous colloidal suspensions in the two systems of CVD-processed ultrafine mullite powder (< 0.1-mu-m), -Si3N4 whisker and -mullite whisker, were prepared near the isoelectric point of mullite (pH 7.0) to prevent cracking during drying of wet green compacts consolidated by filtration. The freeze-dried porous green compacts were hot-pressed with a carbon die at 1500-degrees-C for 1 h at a pressure of 39 MPa in N2 atmosphere. The relative densities of the mullite matrix composites with whiskers of 0 to 10 vol% were in the range of 95.2% to 99.8%. Increasing the fraction of Si3N4 whisker increased the density, flexural strength, and fracture toughness of the hot-pressed composites. On the other hand, addition of the mullite whisker increased the fracture toughness but decreased the density and strength of the composites.