Strengthening mechanism of Al2O3–ZrO2–C sliding plate material by existence modes of in-situ generated β-SiC whiskers

Al2O3–ZrO2–C slide plates are commonly used in sliding nozzle system because of their excellent mechanical properties and slag corrosion resistance. In this work, high-performance Al2O3–ZrO2–C slide plate material were prepared by adding antioxidant silicon to raw materials. SiC whiskers were formed in-situ at a temperature of 1500 °C in a carbon-buried atmosphere. The strengthening mechanism of SiC whiskers in various aspects was systematically studied. The results showed that SiC whiskers have three existence modes, four strengthening and toughening effects and four mechanisms of inhibiting slag corrosion in the Al2O3–ZrO2–C slide plate material. This enhanced the material's mechanical properties and the slag corrosion resistance. In general, compared with the material without antioxidant silicon, the cold crushing strength of the material with 4 wt% silicon increased by 127.2%, and the specific fracture energy increased by 94.0%, and the slag corrosion resistance of the material with 3 wt% silicon increased by 46.3%.