ABRASION RESISTANT SILICON NITRIDE BASED ARTICLES

摘要

20458 A composite article and cutting tool are prepared by densification to form a body consisting essentially of particles of hard refractory material uniformly distributed in a matrix consisting essentially of a first phase and a second phase, said first phase consisting essentially of crystalline silicon nitride and said second phase being an intergranular refractory phase comprising silicon nitirde and a suitable densification aid selected from the group consisting of yttrium oxide, zirconium oxide, hafnium oxide and the lanthanide rare earth oxides and mixtures thereof.