Water vapor thermal treatment effects on spark plasma sintered nanostructured ferritic alloy‐silicon carbide systems

Abstract

Spark plasma sintered pure silicon carbide (SiC) and nanostructured ferritic alloy‐silicon carbide (NFA‐SiC) systems are investigated in a water vapor containing air atmosphere at elevated temperatures up to 1000°C. Both of them exhibit excellent corrosion resistance with a dense amorphous SiO2 layer as the main oxidation barrier. Crystalline α‐quartz and α‐cristobalite from the oxidation of silicides and SiC, respectively, further benefit the corrosion resistance. For the new NFA‐SiC system, the original graphite and silicide phases can be desirably sustained. The NFA‐SiC materials have promising applications in high temperature moist environments and are especially important for nuclear reactor cladding.