Spray-freeze-dried nanosized silicon carbide containing granules: Properties, compaction behaviour and sintering

Spherical granules comprising silicon carbide nanoparticles have been produced with the help of spray-freeze-drying (SFD) technique. The effect of solid loading of slurries on rheological properties, flowability and morphology of the resulting SFD granules has been studied. Further, a systematic study has been performed to investigate the effect of applied pressures and granule density on the relative densities and microstructures of the green compacts. A marginal increase in viscosity is noted as the solid content of slurries increases from 5 to 15 vol% with significant increase in viscosity being observed in case of 18 vol% slurry. The granules prepared from SiC slurries are spherical in shape with their mean size, density, gravimetric flow rate, and yield strength increasing with the increase in solid content. The mechanical properties of sintered SiC produced from SFD granules are found relatively superior to that made from commercially available spray-dried (SD) granules.