Mechanical properties and forming conditions optimization of SiC ceramics using Camellia oleifera shell as carbon source

Using Camellia oleifera shell as raw materials to preparative SiC ceramics by warm-press forming and sintering is proposed in this paper. Warm-press forming before preparing for the C. oleifera shell-based SiC ceramics is beneficial to obtain the internal uniform and suitable pore structure of the cylindrical sample. Thermogravimetric analysis with differential scanning calorimetry was applied to analyze the pyrolysis behavior of C. oleiefra shell and phenolic resin. The scanning electron microscope and X-ray diffraction were used to investigate the properties of C. oleifera shell-based SiC ceramics. Then, the response surface method was applied to establish a multivariate prediction model based on the process parameters of warm-press forming. And the regression equations of porosity and bending strength of COS-SiC are obtained. The result demonstrated that the predicted and experimental values can be in good agreement for the model. By comparing the F-value, it is found that the forming temperature and pressure during the process of warm-press forming have a more significant influence on the porosity and bending strength of SiC ceramics. The optimization process parameters were obtained as follows: forming temperature 153 degrees C, pressure 35 MPa, and holding time 30 min.