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 40TiB₂-60SiC (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 × 10⁵ 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.