Structure, Mechanical Properties, and High-Temperature Stability of ZrB2- and HfB2-Based Materials

The structure, mechanical characteristics, and high-temperature stability in vacuum and air of ZrB2 and HfB2-based materials sintered at a high quasi-hydrostatic pressure (4.1 GPa) under hot pressing (at a pressure of 30 MPa) with and without SiC and Si3N4 additives have been studied. It has been shown that short-term sintering (4 min) under high pressure conditions and at a comparatively low temperature (1800°C) essentially improves the mechanical properties of these materials as compared to the similar materials synthesized by the other method (hot pressing and spark-plasma sintering). In the case of sintering at a high pressure (4.1 GPa), the addition of 20 wt