Silicon Carbide Powder

SiC is an ideal material to use for electric vehicle battery inverters due to its ability to withstand high voltages while providing more effective energy conservation and longer driving distances.

Though silicon carbide (SiC) occurs naturally in small amounts in meteorites, corundum deposits, and kimberlite, most SiC sold today is synthetically produced and is hard and brittle material with unique physical properties.

Hardness

Silicon carbide, often abbreviated as SiC, is an extremely hard crystalline compound of silicon and carbon that has been mass produced since the late 19th century for use as abrasives and various industrial purposes, such as refractory linings for furnaces or heating elements for industrial furnaces, wear-resistant parts on pumps and rocket engines and as semiconductor substrate for light emitting diodes (LED).

SiC is known for its extreme hardness (9 on the Mohs scale), abrasion resistance, chemical inertness and thermal conductivity – qualities which make it suitable for high temperature applications like refractories. Furthermore, SiC’s strength remains at elevated temperatures making it an excellent material choice.

Edward Goodrich Acheson first successfully produced silicon carbide in 1891 when he heated a mixture of clay (an aluminum silicate) and powdered coke (carbon). He called this material carborundum, an amalgam of coal and diamond. Subsequently, Henri Moissan successfully created silicon carbide by either dissolving carbon into liquid silicon or melting calcium carbide and silica into it.

Today, most silicon carbide sold worldwide is synthetic and manufactured through either calcining green blocks in a Barmac grinder or Raymond mill and then crushing into ultra-fine powder using sieving. Black silicon carbide is processed to exacting specifications to meet precise lapping, polishing and non-slip applications; wire sawing quartz; as well as coated and bonded abrasives products.

Thermal Conductivity

Silicon carbide (SiC) is one of the hardest, strongest, and most useful chemical compounds known to man. Naturally occurring as moissanite gemstones in extremely rare forms, SiC has been mass produced since 1893 in powder and crystal form for use as an abrasive and industrial material with excellent strength, toughness and thermal conductivity properties.

SiC is composed of closely packed Si and C atoms arranged into four-atom coordination tetrahedra, creating an exceptionally hard and strong material. Resistant to most organic acids, inorganic acids and molten salts except hydrofluoric acid and acid fluorides; its unique tetrahedral structure also gives exceptional thermal shock resistance for use in high temperature applications.

Pure silicon carbide boasts an extremely high thermal conductivity at room temperature – approximately 490 Wm-1 K-1 due to a lack of impurities or structural defects in its crystal lattice – while polycrystalline SiC ceramics exhibit significantly lower conductivities due to random orientation of grains, secondary phases with lower conductivities at grain boundaries, or lattice impurities.

Foundry Service provides both porous and fully densified b-SiC in a wide range of sizes and chemical compositions to meet various applications, such as abrasive blasting, anti-slip coatings, coated abrasives, ceramic grinding wheels, and refractories. All materials offered have been independently certified as meeting relevant standards.

Resistant to Corrosion

Silicon carbide powder offers exceptional abrasion resistance and corrosion protection, in addition to being highly refractory with excellent thermal conductivity and low coefficient of expansion – qualities which make it perfect for industrial use. Silicon carbide’s light grey hue, similar to diamond’s hardness and density but less likely to crack or scratch make it ideal for use as industrial material.

Electrical properties of graphene include its semiconductor characteristics and wide resistance range across compositions – up to seven orders of magnitude between compositions. It’s insoluble in water and alcohol, yet has a melting point higher than diamond. Furthermore, graphene’s highly resistant properties to acid, abrasion and corrosion protect it well; however, certain hydrofluoric and nitric acids at higher temperatures cause it to corrode rapidly.

Reaction bonded silicon carbide is typically highly resistant to corrosion in chemical applications, with the exception of certain oxidizing acids (such as nitric and hydrofluoric). This resistance stems from its excellent abrasion resistance.

Reaction bonded silicon carbide can be easily formed into molds by mixing it with plasticizer and water to form a slurry, then casting or extruding via rolling, filter press or hydrostatic pressure. This molding process must take place without calcium interference which would otherwise interfere with its corrosion-resistant properties; to accomplish this task gypsum molds are often employed instead of traditional sand-based ones as the mold material of choice.

Abrasive Resistance

Silicon carbide ranks 9.1 on the Mohs scale and its hardness makes it ideal for cutting through very hard materials or tough surfaces such as granite. Furthermore, its fast cutting speed and resistance to wear makes it popularly used in manufacturing grinding wheels, cutting tools, sandpaper and sandblasting processes.

Black silicon carbide powder is often utilized in ceramics for precise grinding of metal and glass parts to achieve precise dimensions and smooth surfaces, often combined with boron carbide for enhanced durability and performance in high temperature applications. Furthermore, this material is useful in the manufacturing of advanced refractory products used by industries like metallurgy, smelting and casting.

Silicon carbide is essential to the aerospace industry for creating engine components that can withstand extreme temperatures and thermal shock, and in solar panels and fuel cells to disperse heat to improve efficiency and lifespan. Silicon carbide also plays a significant role in semiconductor technology where its heat resistance makes wafer processing equipment possible.

Nitride-bonded silicon carbide was recently tested in various soil conditions to determine its wear resistance. Analysis has indicated that light soil offers optimal wear resistance; however, their wear rate could still be affected by steel type used for working parts in these conditions.