Effect of Y2O3 on Microstructure and Properties of cBN/SiAlON Composite

cBN/SiAlON composites were prepared by spark plasma sintering (SPS) method using Si3N4, AlN, Al2O3, cBN and Y2O3 powders as raw materials. The sintering process is at the temperature of 1500°C holding for 5 min. Effect of the Y2O3 content on phase composition, microstructure, bulk density, hardness and fracture toughness of the cBN/SiAlON composite was investigated. The experimental results showed that when the Y2O3 content was 0.2 wt. % the bulk density and fracture toughness of the composite had the maximum values of 3.0 g/cm3 and KIC = 5.7 MPa∙m1/2, respectively. The cBN/SiAlON composite with 0.8 wt. % Y2O3 addition got the maximum hardness of 16.4 GPa.