Ultrafine Al2O3–B4C composites consolidated by pulsed electric current sintering

Effect of spark plasma sintering parameters on microstructure and room-temperature hardness and toughness of fine-grained boron carbide (B4C)

“…If there is a gap in-between the edge of the polished indentation and the actual crack, it will reveal a Palmqvist crack mode in the ceramics. 17,25 In the current work, no gap appeared after the subsequent polishing on indented surfaces that resulted in a half-penny crack system beneath the indentations. The indentation toughness can therefore be calculated according to the Anstis, Chantikul, Lawn and Marshall equation as reported by Ponton and Rawlings, 41 the results being summarized in Table 3.…”

“…Spark plasma sintering (SPS) has become a popular technology that has the advantage of higher heating rates, lower sintering temperatures and shorter dwell times in comparison with conventional hot pressing. 17,18 Under these conditions, intense Joule heating is produced in the graphite die and punches, and eventually in the sintering powders as well. Moreover, high pressures together with pulsed electric powers are initially applied to the particles and some authors believe that such pulses generate electrical discharges, these ones activating the particle surfaces by evaporation of oxide films, impurities and/or moisture.…”

Co-effect of heat and direct current on growth of intermetallic layers at the interface of Ti–Ni diffusion couples

“…temperature and shorten the sintering time of W-4Ni-2Co-1Fe powders and increase the relative density of products. Similarly, Swarnakar, Huang and other scholars' studies confirmed that the electric current can densify the sintering products [13][14][15][16]. In addition, many scholars have investigated the effect of electric current on the interfacial reactions and the mechanical properties of different solder joints and diffusion couples [17][18][19][20][21].…”

Enhancing Toughness in Boron Carbide with Reduced Graphene Oxide

“…However, the low fracture toughness and strength as well as poor machinability have limited their widespread use. In order to overcome those limitations, a great deal of effort has been performed to reinforce B 4 C ceramics using conventional toughing phase, such as Al 2 O 3 , TiB 2 , and CeO 2 . However, to the best of our knowledge, there has been no report so far on the use of graphene nanofillers to improve the mechanical properties of B 4 C ceramics.…”