Silicon Carbide

Coarse Ceramic Grades

Miscellaneous

Family: Other
Region: None
Mined At: Unspecified
Raw Mineral: No
Generic: Yes

Notes

Silicon Carbide is a non oxide ceramic and is used in a wide range of products that must perform in thermally and mechanically demanding applications. It is employed in both abrasives and wear resistant parts for its hardness; in refractories and ceramics for its resistance to heat and low thermal expansion; and in electronics for its thermal conductivity and other properties. The only materials harder than SiC are boron carbide and diamond.

SiC parts can be fabricated in a variety of ways. Hot pressed and reaction bonded parts are least expensive to make but they are usually porous, non-homogeneous and less thermally conductive and shock resistant. By contrast single crystal SiC has optimal properties but is very expensive to make. CVD furnaces, on the other hand, can be used to make solid pure SiC parts that are uniform and dense.

In ceramics the most common use of SiC is for high heat duty kiln shelves.

SiC powder has some curious uses in ceramic glazes. It is employed to make crater and foam glazes. The silicon part takes up available oxygen to make SiO2 and the carbon combines with oxygen to make CO2 that creates the blisters and bubbles. This mechanism is also useful to create reduction effects in oxidation firings. The carbon that silicon carbide particles release acts to reduce metallic oxides like iron and copper (however larger amounts of SiC increase the danger of blisters in non fluid melts). Additions of tin oxide will aid color development, especially for copper reds.

(Richard Willis)

A high refractory of the form SiC, very popular as the principal material in compositions for making kiln shelves and shelf bracings, particularly for high temperature firings (over 1000ºC), owing to its high resistance to thermal shock, warping, high refractoriness under load, resistance to contaminations from acids, metals, salts, and so forth, and especially an excellently uniform dispersal of heat.

Properties

Glaze Color - Red
Small silicon carbide additions to copper glazes fired in an oxidation kiln will produce reduction effects.

Data

Hardness (Moh): 9+
Hardness (Moh): 9+

Suppliers

Generic

Authors

Tony Hansen (Owner)

XML

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<note>Silicon Carbide is a non oxide ceramic and is used in a wide range of products that must perform in thermally and mechanically demanding applications. It is employed in both abrasives and wear resistant parts for its hardness; in refractories and ceramics for its resistance to heat and low thermal expansion; and in electronics for its thermal conductivity and other properties. The only materials harder than SiC are boron carbide and diamond. 
 
SiC parts can be fabricated in a variety of ways. Hot pressed and reaction bonded parts are least expensive to make but they are usually porous, non-homogeneous and less thermally conductive and shock resistant. By contrast single crystal SiC has optimal properties but is very expensive to make. CVD furnaces, on the other hand, can be used to make solid pure SiC parts that are uniform and dense. 
 
In ceramics the most common use of SiC is for high heat duty kiln shelves. 
 
SiC powder has some curious uses in ceramic glazes. It is employed to make crater and foam glazes. The silicon part takes up available oxygen to make SiO2 and the carbon combines with oxygen to make CO2 that creates the blisters and bubbles. This mechanism is also useful to create reduction effects in oxidation firings. The carbon that silicon carbide particles release acts to reduce metallic oxides like iron and copper (however larger amounts of SiC increase the danger of blisters in non fluid melts). Additions of tin oxide will aid color development, especially for copper reds. 
</note>
<note>A high refractory of the form SiC, very popular as the principal material in compositions for making kiln shelves and shelf bracings, particularly for high temperature firings (over 1000&ordm;C), owing to its high resistance to thermal shock, warping, high refractoriness under load, resistance to contaminations from acids, metals, salts, and so forth, and especially an excellently uniform dispersal of heat.

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