Microstructure and mechanical properties of the ZrB2–SiC eutectic phase obtained via induction plasma spheroidization

The microstructure, phase composition and interfaces of ZrB 2 -30 vol%SiC eutectic were investigated using TEM fabricated via induction plasma spheroidization(IPS). The obtained ZrB 2 –SiC hypereutectic consists of the alternating H–ZrB 2 and 6H–SiC lamellas, and its composition is ZrB 2 -65.04 mol.%SiC. 3 types of interfaces including SiC lamella-ZrB 2 granule, ZrB 2 lamella-SiC lamella and ZrB 2 lamella-ZrB 2 granule present a preferential orientation relationship. High-resolution TEM observations show that the ZrB 2 phase in the eutectic prefers to growth along the (101) plane. In addition, the mechanical properties of each phase in the IPS-treated ZrB 2 –SiC powder were measured by nanoindentation. Hardness and elastic modulus of ZrB 2 granules were measured 17.86 GPa and 168.97 GPa, respectively, while these values were obtained 9.99 GPa and 120.66 GPa for ZrB 2 –SiC eutectic phase.