ULTRON sintered silicon carbide from Blasch for acids, bases and temperatures up to about 1,600 °C.
Pure silicon carbide, no free silicon, no oxide bond to give way.
For parts where every other grade has a weak spot.
Sintered silicon carbide is worth its higher cost where a part combines wear with temperatures above the limit of reaction bonded silicon carbide, or with strong acids and bases that attack free silicon or an oxide bond. Blasch ULTRON is sintered at 2,200 °C, has an open porosity below 0.1%, a bending strength of 480 to 600 MPa and keeps that strength nearly constant up to about 1,600 °C. For plain abrasion at moderate temperature, reaction bonded silicon carbide does the same job for less.
Sintered silicon carbide (SSiC) is made from very fine silicon carbide powder with sintering additives. It is shaped like other ceramics and then sintered at 2,200 °C in an inert gas atmosphere, so the SiC grains bond directly to each other.
Unlike bonded grades, there is no second phase between the grains that could melt, oxidize or dissolve. That is where its temperature and chemical resistance come from.
ULTRON is the sintered grade in the Blasch silicon carbide family. Compare all silicon carbide grades
Values from the Blasch ULTRON product information sheet.
| Property | ULTRON |
|---|---|
| Application temperature | 1,600 °C |
| Density | over 3.08 g/cm³ |
| Open porosity | under 0.1% |
| Bending strength | 480 to 600 MPa |
| Modulus of elasticity | 420 to 450 GPa |
| Thermal conductivity | 74 W/m·K |
| Coefficient of thermal expansion | 4.5 x 10⁻⁶ /K |
| Acid and alkali resistance | excellent |
The strength stays nearly constant up to very high temperatures, about 1,600 °C, with no degradation over time. Corrosion resistance in acidic and basic media is maintained up to high temperatures as well.
Every bonded grade is only as strong as what sits between its grains, and sintered silicon carbide has nothing there to give way.
Hot wear: above the range where the free silicon of reaction bonded silicon carbide limits its use, for example in high temperature burner nozzles and kiln furniture for very high firing temperatures.
Strong acids and bases: seals and liners in chemical service, such as slip ring seals in chemical pumps and bearing bushes, where the medium would attack free silicon or an oxide bond.
Wear plus corrosion: cyclone liners and valve parts that see abrasive slurry and an aggressive liquid at the same time.
For abrasion at ambient or moderate temperature with neutral media, reaction bonded or alumina bonded silicon carbide wears comparably for less money. For large shapes with frequent temperature swings, nitride bonded silicon carbide is the more forgiving choice.
Parts for hot, corrosive and abrasive duty.
High temperature nozzles that keep their shape in the flame.
Linings, bubble caps and tuyeres for hot, corrosive reactors.
Valve components for slurry with aggressive liquids.
Liners where wear and chemical attack meet in the same vessel.
ULTRON is one of the liner grades for CeraLine lined pipe and elbows and goes to chemical processing, mining and power generation. For molten aluminum, the non wetting oxide bonded silicon carbide is usually the better match.
ULTRON values and uses: Blasch ULTRON sintered silicon carbide product information sheet and material page; Blasch CeraLine presentation. Sintering of silicon carbide: W. D. Kingery, H. K. Bowen, D. R. Uhlmann, Introduction to Ceramics, 2nd ed., Wiley, 1976.
Higher cost than bonded grades and, like every dense ceramic, brittleness under impact. For plain wear at moderate temperature it is often more than you need.
Sintered for high temperature and strong acids or bases; reaction bonded for large wear parts at moderate temperature, at lower cost.
Blasch gives an application temperature of 1,600 °C, with strength nearly constant up to that range.
Slip ring seals in chemical pumps and bearing bushes, where the seal faces need hardness, conductivity and resistance to the pumped medium.
Send the dimensions, the medium and the temperature. A Blasch engineer checks whether ULTRON is worth it for your part, or whether a bonded grade will do.
