About this Abstract |
| Meeting |
MS&T25: Materials Science & Technology
|
| Symposium
|
2025 Undergraduate Student Poster Contest
|
| Presentation Title |
SPU-16: Particle Size-Controlled Densification of Ultra-High Temperature Ceramics |
| Author(s) |
Sarah Agnes Hall, Jonathan Kaufman, Connor Wyckoff, Lisa Rueschhoff |
| On-Site Speaker (Planned) |
Sarah Agnes Hall |
| Abstract Scope |
Ultra-high temperature ceramics (UHTCs) are materials that are desired for extreme environments in aerospace applications due to their advantageous material properties. High densities are needed to maintain these properties. This study uses pressureless sintering to densify UHTC pellets with a focus on optimizing particle size and packing to improve density. Ideal particle sizes were determined through De Larrard’s linear packing theory and applied to vary particle size of silicon carbide sintering aid in zirconium diboride (ZrB2-SiC). All pellet densities were determined by Archimedes method, with higher densities (>85% density) observed for smaller particle sizes (0.5 microns) of the SiC additives. Further improvements in density were investigated by modifying the sintering profile to improve the sintering kinetics during densification. High densities of these ZrB2 compositions will be beneficial for achieving high density parts when these compositions are turned into 3D-printable slurries with the same particle size distribution. |