During the last years much attention was given towards the better properties and reliability of Si3N4 based composites. Most of the research focus on the improvement of the mechanical properties but not on the chemical interaction between the phases of the composite. The purpose of this work is to study the chemical interactions between Si3N4 and TiC during the sintering process. The kinetics of sintering was studied by means of dilatometry, at 1750 °C/1 h in a dynamic atmosphere of N2. Thermal treatments were carried out in the temperature range 1400 - 1850 °C to analyze the reactions. The phases were determined by X-ray diffraction. Alterations on the sintering kinetics due to the presence of the second phase were observed. These alterations must be related to the formation of the TiCN solid solution and SiC, observed in X-ray diffraction.
silicon nitride; sintering; composite; TiC
