Pressureless densification of ZrB2–SiC composites with vanadium carbide

Adding a small amount of vanadium carbide as sintering aids, nearly fully dense ZrB2–SiC composites were obtained by pressureless sintering methods at 2000–2100 °C. Thermodynamic calculations and experimental results proved that VC is better at removing the surface oxide impurities of ZrB2 than WC, and played a very important role during the densification process. The mechanical properties of the sintered ceramics were also reported.