Densification behavior of high purity SiC by hot pressing

Densification behavior of 99.998% purity SiC by hot pressing without metallic additives was investigated. A theoretical densification of 92% was achieved at 2350 °C with 50 MPa in 3 h. The densification was more affected by the sintering pressure rather than by the sintering temperature and was independent of initial particle size. Data were interpreted according to the power-law creep model. The β-SiC phase was preserved in the high purity, hot-pressed SiC specimen without β→α phase transformation even at 2350 °C.