Abstract
Boron carbide is a low-density ceramic with high hardness and stiffness values that make it a valuable candidate for light armor applications. Fully dense boron carbide is fabricated by hot pressing of fine (<2 µm) powder at a relatively high temperature (2150–2200°C). Fully dense boron carbide can be processed from an initial mixture of 5.5 vol.% Fe and low-cost B4C powder by spark plasma sintering (SPS) at 2000°C. At this temperature, Fe-free boron carbide can be consolidated only to 96% of the theoretical density. The effect of the Fe addition on the densities is even more pronounced at lower processing temperatures and is related to the presence of a liquid phase in the Fe-containing material. The resulting microstructure and mechanical properties of the Fe-containing boron carbide are presented and discussed.
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Published in Poroshkovaya Metallurgiya, Vol. 46, No. 11–12 (458), pp. 23–29, 2007.
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Frage, N., Hayun, S., Kalabukhov, S. et al. The effect of Fe addition on the densification of B4C powder by spark plasma sintering. Powder Metall Met Ceram 46, 533–538 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11106-007-0082-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11106-007-0082-9