In this paper spark plasma sintering (SPS) of silicon carbide and multi-walled carbon
nanotube reinforced zirconium diboride ultra-high temperature ceramic matrix composites is
reported. Systematic investigations on the effect of reinforcement type (SiC and CNTs) and
content (10–40vol.% SiC and 2–6vol.% CNTs) on densification behavior, microstructure
development, and mechanical properties (microhardness, bi-axial flexural strength, and
indentation fracture toughness) are presented. With the similar SPS processing parameters …

Abstract Scope and Method of Study: Space vehicles re-entering the earth's atmosphere
experience very high temperatures due to aerodynamic heating. Ultra-high temperature
ceramics (UHTC) with melting point higher than 3200 C are promising materials for thermal
protection systems of such space vehicles re-entering the earth's atmosphere. Among
several UHTC systems ZrB 2 based ceramic composites are particularly important for
thermal protection systems due to their better mechanical and thermoelectric properties and …