Pressureless sintering of silicon carbide with {TAIL ~ fracture toughness} in excess of about 4 MPa m1/2 as measured by the single edge precracked beam technique while maintaining a density greater than 3.1 g/cc for compositions with SiC greater than {HEAD ~ about 94 wt %} is made possible through the use of metallic Al to promote sintering and grain growth 
Pressureless sintering of silicon carbide with { TAIL ~ fracture toughness } in excess of about 4 MPa m1/2 as measured by the single edge precracked beam technique while maintaining a density greater than 3.1 g / cc for compositions with SiC greater than { HEAD ~ about 94 wt % } is made possible through the use of metallic Al to promote sintering and grain growth
OTH OTH OTH OTH OTH OTH TAIL TAIL TAIL TAIL TAIL TAIL OTH OTH OTH OTH OTH OTH OTH OTH OTH OTH OTH OTH OTH OTH OTH OTH OTH OTH OTH OTH OTH OTH OTH OTH OTH OTH OTH OTH OTH OTH OTH OTH HEAD HEAD HEAD HEAD HEAD HEAD HEAD HEAD OTH OTH OTH OTH OTH OTH OTH OTH OTH OTH OTH OTH OTH OTH OTH