The consolidation behavior of colloidal SiC particles (30 or 800 nm diameter) with and without polyacrylic ammonium (dispersant, PAA) at pH 7 was examined using a developed pressure filtration apparatus in the pressure range from 100 kPa to 19 MPa at a constant crosshead speed or at a constant compressive pressure of a piston. In the electrostatically-stabilized colloidal suspensions (5 vol%-30 nm SiC (powder A), 30 vol%-800 nm SiC (powder B)) without PAA, a phase transition from a well-dispersed suspension to a flocculated suspension occurred when the applied pressure exceeded a critical pressure (ΔPtc = 0.2−0.4MPa). The addition of PAA suppressed the phase transition. The height of the compressive piston as a function of filtration time at a constant applied pressure was simulated by an established filtration theory for a well-dispersed suspension and a newly-developed filtration theory for a flocculated suspension. The experimental results for both the suspensions of powders A and B with and without PAA were simulated well by the new model for flocculated suspension. The packing density of consolidated powders A and B in the filtration apparatus depended on the applied pressure, but the density after calcination was independent of the compressive pressure.

Keywords: Pressure filtration, Phase transition, Dispersed particles, Flocculated particles.