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Silicon carbide (SiC) exhibits good strength at high temperatures and resistance to radioactivity. However, it has poor fracture toughness. The ability to heal cracks represents a very desirable means of overcoming this weakness. This study focuses on the crack-healing behavior and bending strength of SiC ceramics to which sintering additives have been added. Optimized crack-healing condition was found to be 1hr at an atmospheric level of 1100 °C. The maximum crack size that can be healed at the optimized condition was a semi-elliptical surface crack of 450 µm in diameter. Si oxide was revealed to be the principle material involved in crack-healing.

This paper describes the influence of surface roughness of steel plate on self-assembly behavior of silica particles based on SEM observations and the wettability of the suspension. The 304 stainless steel plate having two different surface roughness and spherical silica powder were used for the investigation. The silica layer was obtained by dipping the steel plate into the suspension and drawing it under various drawing speed. As a result, silica particle layers were formed on the plate surface when the stainless steel had a rough surface. In contrast, it was difficult to obtain the silica layers for the smooth surface.