Spark plasma sintering (SPS) is currently widely applied to existing alloys as a means of further enhancing the alloys' figure of merit. However, the determination of the optimal sintering condition is challenging in the SPS process. This report demonstrates a systematic way to independently optimize the Seebeck coefficient S and the ratio of electrical to thermal conductivity (σ/κ) and thus ac...

Ferrites have always been a subject of great interest from point of view of magnetic application, since the fist compass to present date. In contrast, the scientific interest for iron based magnetic oxides decreased after Ørsted discovery as they where replaces by coil as magnetizing sources. Néel discovery of ferrimagnetism boosted again interest and leads to strong developments during two dec...

Electric current activated/assisted sintering (ECAS) techniques, such as electrical discharge sintering (EDS) or resistive sintering (RS), have been intensively investigated for longer than 50 years. In this work, a novel system including an electrically insulated graphite die for Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS) is described, which allows the sintering of any refractory ceramic material in less th...

Alumina toughened zirconia (ATZ) and zirconia toughened alumina (ZTA) are currently the materials of choice to meet the need for tough, strong, and bioinert ceramics for medical devices. However, the mechanical properties of ZrO2/Al2O3 dispersion ceramics could be considerably increased by reducing the corresponding grain sizes and by improving the homogeneity of the phase dispersion. Here, we ...

Ultrafine tungsten carbide-nickel (WC-Ni) cemented carbides with varied fractions of silicon carbide (SiC) nanowhisker (0-3.75 wt.%) were fabricated by spark plasma sintering at 1350°C under a uniaxial pressure of 50 MPa with the assistance of vanadium carbide (VC) and tantalum carbide (TaC) as WC grain growth inhibitors. The effects of SiC nanowhisker on the microstructure and mechanical prope...