Pressureless sintering and properties of boron carbide composite materials

Abstract

Boron carbide and Tantalum boride composites were prepared by pressureless sintering of B 4 C with addition of TaC powder. The effect of TaC addition on the sinterability of boron carbide was studied. High densified ceramic with a relative density of 98.7% was obtained at sintering temperature of 2250°C. The composition and the microstructure of the dense composites are characterized by means of x-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDX). The studies show that the composites contain boron carbide, TaB 2 , and carbon phases with a homogeneous structure. In addition, the correlation between the composition and the electrical conductivity was investigated. The electrical conductivity of the composite increased with increasing addition of TaC, and a change in conduction behavior from semiconducting to metallic was observed.High hardness value of 28.49 ± 1.33 GPa was obtained by the sample with 30 wt% TaC addition. K E Y W O R D S boron carbide, electrical conductivity, pressureless sintering, tantalum boride How to cite this article: Martin H-P, Feng B, Michaelis A. Pressureless sintering and properties of boron carbide composite materials. Int J Appl Ceram Technol.

Microstructure and mechanical properties of WB2–B4C composites fabricated by boro/carbothermal reduction and SPS

“…13,18,33 Boron carbide (B 4 C), which also exhibits high hardness (∼29 GPa), excellent wear resistance, and good chemical stability, and especially, low density (2.52 g/cm 3 ), has been widely used as lightweight personnel and vehicle armors, and cutting tools. [34][35][36] In recent years, the approach to add B 4 C to enhance the relative density and mechanical properties of TMBs had attracted wide attentions of researchers worldwide. 37,38 For example, Pan et al 39 prepared W 2 B 5 -B 4 C composites with a relative density of 100%, the Vickers hardness close to 38 GPa (load 9.8 N), and fracture toughness of 7.8 MPa m 1/2 .…”