Silicon Carbide (SiC) is one of the most popular high performance tribo-materials, which has been commercially available for more than twenty-five years. Its features include:

· Excellent abrasion and wear resistance
· Excellent corrosion resistance
· Low coefficient of friction
· Low coefficient of thermal expansion
· High thermal conductivity
· Hardness greater than Tungsten Carbide

Different grades of Silicon Carbide are available as following:
· Reaction Bonded Silicon Carbide (RB SiC) – a very economical material which gives excellent wear characteristics, as well as good chemical resistance.
· Sintered Silicon Carbide (SSiC) – the absence of free silicon makes it most resistant to chemically-aggressive fluids, and ideal for high temperature applications.
· Graphite-Loaded Silicon Carbide – this is a composite of silicon carbide and free graphite. Graphite is added to RB SiC (RB SiC + C) or SSiC (SSiC + C), to improve tribological behavior by enhanced lubricity.