Rheological Behavior of Injection-Moldable Silicon Powder-Silicon Carbide Whisker Formulations

The rheological behavior of injection‐moldable formulations for reaction‐bonded Si3N4 toughened with silicon carbide whiskers was studied using capillary rheometry. The effects on rheology of the following parameters were examined: solids loading, powder/whisker volume ratio, particle size and type, and binder composition. Two important aspects of the flow behavior were delineated. First, corrections for end effects and slippage along the wall were made in order to interpret the experimental data properly. At high shearing rates (i.e., 103 s−1) slip may account for more than 50% of the total flow. Such slippage promotes flow into the smallest channels or corners of the mold and may appreciably facilitate molding. Consequently the careful study of slippage is an inherent requirement of the rheological characterization of these concentrated suspensions. Second, the suspension viscosities were delineated. An empirical equation for predicting relative viscosity was developed for formulations containing up to ∼30 vol% of silicon carbide whiskers (with more than 50 vol% total solids). Suspension viscosities generally increased with decreasing particle size and increasing whisker contents. Particle surface roughness appears to affect the shearing behavior. Binders of low molecular weight resulted in higher relative viscosities than higher molecular weight binders, indicating possibly better dispersion of solids when more viscous binders are employed.