In order to achieve high sintered density, yttria (4.1 wt%)
and alumina (5.2 wt%) were added to T-SiC powder as
sintering aids, taking into account the residual alumina
contained in the synthesized powder (0.5 wt%). Mixing
in ethanol was performed by Turbola mixer; then, the
mixture was dried and sieved. Commercially available
ready-to-press α-SiC powder (C-SiC) for liquid-phase
sintering with appropriate amounts of organic binder
and sintering aids (SIKA Densitec-L, Saint Gobain,
Norway) was used for comparison. The main
characteristics of T-SiC and C-SiC powder are reported
in Table 1.