Properties of SiC particulate preforms based on different pore-forming agents and bonding methods for making SiC/Al composites

The preforms with high SiC volume fraction (>50%) were successfully fabricated by two bonding methods. Moreover, the dimensional change, compressive strength, and microstructure of SiC preforms were investigated, and the bonding mechanism among SiC particulates in preforms was also discussed. Results show that, after heating to 1 100 °C and holding for 2 h, a uniform and interconnected structure in the SiC preforms can be obtained by using starch, stearic acid, and graphite respectively as the pore-forming agents, which benefits the subsequent infiltration by the molten metals. More neck-like-jointing among SiC particulate by using graphite as the pore-forming agent improves the dimensional accuracy and compressive strength of the preform. Besides, the properties of the preforms by the binder bonding are better than those by the oxidation bonding, which is mainly because the mixed neck-like-jointing and binder at high temperature provide effective bonding together.