Preparation of TiB2-SiC eutectic composite by an arc-melted method and its characterization

TiB2-SiC system composites were prepared using TiB2 and SiC powders as starting materials by an arc-melted method in Ar atmosphere. The TiB2-SiC system was binary eutectic. The eutectic composition was 40TiB(2)-60SiC (mol%) showing a labyrinth texture. The hardness of the eutectic composite was 27 to 30 GPa at the loads from 0.98 to 9.8 N. The electrical conductivity of the composites increased with increasing the content of TiB2. The electrical conductivity of the eutectic composite slightly decreased from 6.5 to 6.1 x 10(5) Sm-1 with increasing temperature from 298 to 1200K. The thermal conductivity of the composites increased with increasing the content of SiC. The thermal conductivity of the eutectic composite decreased from 70 to 45 WK-1 m(-1) with increasing temperature.