SiC Applications:

Splinter deck & Armor protection, bulletproof :

In war industry & military usage, SiC materials has very good performance in armor protection field, more light, more strong, it can offer reliable shield for soldier and pilot.

Abrasive and cutting tools:

In the arts, silicon carbide is a popular abrasive in modern lapidary due to the durability and low cost of the material. In manufacturing, it is used for its hardness in abrasive machining processes such as grinding, honing, water-jet cutting and sandblasting. Particles of silicon carbide are laminated to paper to create sandpapers and the grip tape on skateboards.In 1982 an exceptionally strong composite of aluminium oxide and silicon carbide whiskers was discovered. Development of this laboratory-produced composite to a commercial product took only three years. In 1985, the first commercial cutting tools made from this alumina and silicon carbide whisker-reinforced composite were introduced by the Advanced Composite Materials Corporation (ACMC) and Greenleaf Corporation.

Structural material:

In the 1980s and 1990s, silicon carbide was studied in several research programs for high-temperature gas turbines in Europe, Japan and the United States. The components were intended to replace nickel superalloy turbine blades or nozzle vanes. However, none of these projects resulted in a production quantity, mainly because of its low impact resistance and its low fracture toughness.Like other hard ceramics (namely alumina and boron carbide), silicon carbide is used in composite armor (e.g. Chobham armor), and in ceramic plates in bulletproof vests. Dragon Skin, which is produced by Pinnacle Armor, uses disks of silicon carbide.Silicon carbide is used as a support and shelving material in high temperature kilns such as for firing ceramics, glass fusing, or glass casting. SiC kiln shelves are considerably lighter and more durable than traditional alumina shelves.

Automobile parts:

Silicon-infiltrated carbon-carbon composite is used for high performance "ceramic" brake discs, as it is able to withstand extreme temperatures. The silicon reacts with the graphite in the carbon-carbon composite to become carbon-fiber-reinforced silicon carbide (C/SiC). These discs are used on some road-going sports cars, supercars, as well as other performance cars including the Porsche Carrera GT, the Bugatti Veyron, the Chevrolet Corvette ZR1, Bentleys, Ferraris, Lamborghinis, some specific high performance Audis, and the McLaren P1. Silicon carbide is also used in a sintered form for diesel particulate filters. SiC is also used as an oil additive to reduce friction, emissions, and harmonics.

Electric systems:

The earliest electrical application of SiC was in lightning arresters in electric power systems. These devices must exhibit high resistance until the voltage across them reaches a certain threshold VT, at which point their resistance must drop to a lower level and maintain this level until the applied voltage drops below VT.it was recognized early on that SiC had such a voltage-dependent resistance, and so columns of SiC pellets were connected between high-voltage power lines and the earth.

Astronomy:

The low thermal expansion coefficient, high hardness, rigidity and thermal conductivity make silicon carbide a desirable mirror material for astronomical telescopes. The growth technology (chemical vapor deposition) has been scaled up to produce disks of polycrystalline silicon carbide up to 3.5 meters in diameter, and several telescopes (like the Herschel Space Telescope) are already equipped with SiC optics.

Thin filament pyrometry:

Silicon carbide fibers are used to measure gas temperatures in an optical technique called thin filament pyrometry. It involves the placement of a thin filament in a hot gas stream. Radiative emissions from the filament can be correlated with filament temperature. Filaments are SiC fibers with a diameter of 15 micrometers; about one fifth that of a human hair. Because the fibers are so thin, they do little to disturb the flame and their temperature remains close to that of the local gas. Temperatures of about 800–2500 K can be measured.

Heating elements:

References to silicon carbide heating elements exist from the early 20th century when they were produced by Acheson's Carborundum Co. in the U.S. and EKL in Berlin. Silicon carbide offered increased operating temperatures compared with metallic heaters. Silicon carbide elements are used today in the melting of glass and non-ferrous metal, heat treatment of metals, float glass production, production of ceramics and electronics components, igniters in pilot lights for gas heaters, etc.