strength to as much as 70,000 lb/in

(483 MPa). Electrical conductivity is 12%

for C65100 and 7 for C65500 relative to copper, and thermal conductivity is 33
Btu/(ft h F) [57 W/(m K)] and 21 Btu/(ft h F) [(36 W/m K)], respectively.
The alloys are used for hydraulic-uid lines in aircraft, heat-exchanger
tubing, marine hardware, bearing plates, and various fasteners.
Silicon bronze C87200, which is suitable for centrifugal, investment, and
sand-, plaster-, and permanent-mold casting, also has been known by the
trade names Everdur, Herculoy, and Navy Tombasil. Typical as-sand-cast
tensile properties are 55,000 lb/in
2

(379 MPa) ultimate strength, 25,000 lb/in

(172 MPa) yield strength, and 30% elongation. Brinell hardness is 85,

electrical conductivity 6%, and, relative to free-cutting brass, machinability is

40%. Uses include pump and valve parts, marine ttings, and bearings.

4.149. SILICON CARBIDE.

A bluish-black, crystalline, articial mineral of composition SiC having a
Knoop hardness of 2,500. It is used as an abrasive as loose powder, coated
abrasive cloth and paper, wheels, and hones. It withstands temperatures to
its decomposing point of 4175F (2301C) and is valued as a refractory. It
retains its strength at high temperatures and has low thermal expansion,
and its heat conductivity is 10 times that of reclay. It is used for buttery
valves that control the ow of hot blasts through the tuyeres of blast
furnaces, and for high-pressure, high-temperature mechanical seals in
polymer-processing reactors. Silicon-carbide particulates are used as
reinforcements in aluminum-alloy composites, and silicon-carbide bers and
whiskers serve as reinforcements in emerging metal-matrix and ceramicmatrix composites. The material is also a potential matrix material for
composites. Fibers are used to strengthen and toughen glass ceramics.
Thermal-insulation blankets of spacecraft, which can withstand repeated
exposure to temperatures as high as 3632F (2000C), comprise layers of
silicon-carbide and aluminoborosilicate fabrics, and silicon-carbide thread is
used to stitch the fabrics. The material also holds promise for integrated
circuits able to withstand higher temperatures than silicon-based ICs and for
mirrors of superior mechanical, thermal, and optical properties in space
systems, solar collectors, and astronomical telescopes.
Silicon carbide is made by fusing sand and coke at a temperature above

4000F (2204C). It can also be made from polymer precursors and by vaporphase reactions. One such precursor, developed at Rensselaer Polytechnic
Institute, is hydridopolycarbosilane. When it is heated to 1832F (1000C),
90% of the polymer converts to the carbide. Silicon carbide can also be made
from wood or sawdust. The Glenn Research Center of the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration reports that parts formed to net shape
are pyrolyzed at 1800F (982C) and inltrated with molten silicon or silicon
alloys.
Unlike aluminum oxide, the crystals of silicon carbide are large, and they are
crushed to make the small grains used as abrasives. They are harder than
aluminum oxide, and as they fracture less easily, they are more suited for
grinding hard cast irons and ceramics. The standard grain sizes are usually
from 100 to 1,000 mesh. The crystalline powder in grain sizes from 60 to 240
mesh is also used in lightning arrestors. Carborundum, of Standard Oil
Engineered Materials Co., Crystolon, of Norton Co., and Carbolon, of
Exolon Co. of Canada Ltd., are trade names for silicon carbide. Many other
trade names are used, such as Carborite, Carbolox, Carbolite,
Carbobrant, Storalon, Sterbon, and Natalon. Ferrocarbo is a silicon
carbide of Carborundum Co. in briquettes for adding to the iron cupola
charge. It breaks down in the cupola above 2000F
(1093C) to form nascent carbon and silicon for adding to the iron and also
for deoxidizing. It produces more-uniform iron castings. Alsimag 539 is a
ne-grained silicon carbide in the form of molded parts for brazing xtures
and furniture for kilns for high-temperature sintering. The siliconized
graphites produced by Pure Carbon Co., named Purebide, are graphite
materials with surfaces chemically converted to silicon carbide. They have
the wear resistance of silicon carbide, but retain some of the lubricity of
graphite. Cost savings are achieved by machining graphite into intricate
shapes before conversion, and subsequently impregnating parts to control
leakage or modify strength and/or wear properties.
When used as a refractory in the form of blocks or shapes, silicon carbide
may be ceramic-bonded or self-bonded by recrystallization. A standard silicon
carbide brick has about 90% SiC, with up to 8 silica. The specic gravity is
about 3.2. It has very high resistance to spalling. The thermal conductivity is
about the same as that of mullite, and the coecient of expansion is about
2.6 10

6 /F

(4.7 10

6 /K).

Carbex is a silicon carbide rebrick of

General Refractories Co. Refrax silicon carbide of Carborundum Co. is

bonded with silicon nitride. It is used for hot-spray nozzles, for heat-resistant
parts, and for lining electrolytic cells for smelting aluminum. Silicon carbide
KT, of the same company, is molded without a binder. It has 96.5% SiC with
about 2.5 silica. The specic gravity is about 3.1, and it is impermeable to
gases. Parts made by pressing or extruding and then sintering have a
exural strength of 24,000 lb/in
150,000 lb/in

(165 MPa) and compressive strength of

(1,034 MPa). The Knoop hardness is 2,740. It is made in rods,

tubes, and molded shapes, and the rough crystal surface can be diamondground to a smooth, close tolerance. The operating temperature in inert
atmospheres is to 4000F (2204C) and in oxidizing atmospheres to 3000F
(1649C). For reactor parts, it has a low neutron-capture cross section and
high radiation stability. The thermal conductivity is 2.5 times that of stainless
steel. Crystolon R of Norton Co. is a stabilized silicon carbide bonded by
recrystallization. It has a specic gravity of 2.5, a tensile strength of 5,500
lb/in

(38 MPa), compressive strength of 25,000 lb/in

(172 MPa), and Knoop

hardness of 2,500. The porosity is 21%. It is for parts subject to temperatures

to 4200F (2316C), and it withstands high thermal shock. Crystolon C is a
self-bonding silicon carbide for coating molded graphite parts to give high
wear and erosion resistance. The coatings, 0.003 to 0.020 in (0.008 to 0.051
cm) thick, produced by high-temperature chemical reaction, form an integral
part of the graphite surface. Vitropore lter candles, of Pall Corp., are made
from rigid silicon carbide and are used to recover particulates from hot gas
streams. They are especially eective in recovering catalysts from uidcatalytic-cracking processes. Diasil, of Crestel Pty of Australia, comprises
low-value, crushed diamond dust in silicon carbide and is used for cutting,
drilling, and grinding ceramics.
For humidity protection of integrated circuits, Dow Corning and National
Semiconductor developed a dual thin-lm coating for application prior to
plastic encasement. A silicon dioxide layer smooths circuit topology, then a
silicon carbide layer serves as a barrier against moisture and activated ion
impurities.
Silicon carbide foam is a lightweight material made of self-bonded silicon
carbide foamed into shapes. The low-density foam has a density of 17 lb/ft

(272 kg/m 3), a porosity of 90%, and tensile and compressive strengths of 30
lb/in

(0.2 MPa). The high-density foam of 33 lb/ft

2

(529 kg/m 3) has a tensile

2

strength of 85 lb/in

(0.6 MPa) and compressive strength of 750 lb/in

(5

MPa). Its porosity is 80%. It is inert to hot chemicals and can be machined.
Silicon carbide crystals are used for semiconductors at temperatures
above 650F (343C). As the cathode of electronic tubes instead of a hot-wire
cathode, the crystals take less power and need no warm-up. In the silicon
carbide crystal, both the silicon and the crystalline carbon have the covalent
bond in which each atom has four near neighbors and is bonded to each of
these with two electrons symmetrically placed between the atoms; but since
there is an electronegative dierence between silicon and carbon, there is
some ionic bonding which results in a lesser mobility for lattice scattering.
The silicon carbide semiconductor crystals of Westinghouse have less than 1
part of impurities to 10 million, and the junction is made by diusing
aluminum atoms into the crystal at a temperature of 3900F (2149C), making
a p -type junction.
Silicon carbide ber is one of the most important bers for hightemperature use. It has high strength and modulus and withstands
temperatures even under oxidizing conditions up to 3272F (1800C), though
the bers show some deterioration in tensile strength and modulus
properties at temperatures above 2192F (1200C). It has advantages over
carbon bers for some uses, having greater resistance to oxidation at high
temperatures, superior compressive strength, and greater electrical
resistance. SCS silicon-carbide bers, of Textron Specialty Materials,
maintain strength at temperatures over 2500F (1371C) and are useful as
reinforcements for ceramic-matrix composites.
There are two commercial processes for making continuous silicon carbide
bers: (1) by coating silicon carbide on either a tungsten or a carbon lament
by vapor deposition to produce a large lament [3,937 to 5,906 in (100 to
150 m) in diameter], or (2) by melt-spinning an organic polymer containing
silicon atoms as a precursor ber followed by heating at an elevated
temperature to produce a small lament [394 to 1,181 in (10 to 30 m) in
diameter]. Fibers from the two processes dier considerably, but both are
used commercially.
Silicon carbide whiskers as small as 276 in (7 m) in diameter can be
made by a number of dierent processes. Although these whiskers have the
disadvantage in some applications of not being in continuous-lament form,

they can be made with higher tensile strength and modulus values than
continuous silicon carbide lament.

4.150. SILICON CAST IRON.

An acid-resistant cast iron containing a high percentage of silicon. When
the amount of silicon in cast iron is above 10%, there is a notable increase in
corrosion and acid resistance. The acid resistance is obtained from the
compound Fe 3Si, which contains 14.5% silicon. The usual amount of silicon in
acid-resistant castings is from 12 to 15%. The alloy casts well but is hard and
cannot be machined. These castings usually contain 0.75 to 0.85% carbon.
Lesser amounts decrease acid resistance. Too much carbon also separates
out as graphite in silicon irons, causing faulty castings. Increasing the
content of silicon in iron reduces the melting point progressively from 2786F
(1530C) for pure iron to 2282F (1250C) for iron containing 23% silicon. A 14
to 14.5% silicon iron has a silvery-white structure, a compressive strength
of about 70,000 lb/in

(483 MPa), and Brinell hardness 299 to 350, and it is

resistant to hot sulfuric acid, nitric acid, and organic acids. Silicon irons are
very wear-resistant and are valued for pump parts and for parts for chemical
machinery. They are marketed under many trade names. Duriron, of Duriron
Co., contains 14.5% silicon and 1 carbon and manganese. The tensile
strength is 16,000 lb/in

(110 MPa) and density 0.253 lb/in

(7,003 kg/m 3).

4.151. SILICON-COPPER.
An alloy of silicon and copper used for adding silicon to copper, brass, or
bronze, also employed as a deoxidizer of copper and for making hard copper.
Silicon alloys in almost any proportion with copper, and is the best
commercial hardener of copper. A 5050 alloy of silicon and copper is hard,
extremely brittle, and black. A 10% silicon, 90 copper alloy is as brittle as
glass; in this proportion silicon copper is used for making the addition to
molten copper to produce hard, sound copper-alloy castings of high
strength. The resulting alloy is easy to cast in the foundry and does not
dross. Silicon-copper grades in 5, 10, 15, and 20% silicon are also marketed,
being usually sold in slabs notched for breaking into small sections for
adding to the melt. A 10% silicon-copper melts at 1500F (816C); a 20% alloy
melts at 1152F (623C).