Abstract
The B4C-TiB2-graphite composites with a high flexural strength of 915.4 ± 41.7 MPa was prepared by spark plasma sintering (SPS) at 1900 °C under 60 MPa for 10 min. The duplex structure reinforcement was formed with lamellar graphite and submicron TiB2 grains inter-embedded in each other. Likewise, the flexural strength and fracture toughness of the composites were significantly strengthened. Synthesis reaction mechanism studies showed that the sintering densification is promoted by the fast thermal diffusion of boron and carbon in SPS. The effect of the amount of TiB2 and graphite on the flexural strength of the composites was investigated, and the B4C-TiB2-graphite composites exhibit excellent combined mechanical properties at room temperature, (flexural strength of 915.4 ± 41.7 MPa, fracture toughness of 5.18 ± 0.40 MPa·m1/2, Vickers hardness of 32.14 ± 1.72 GPa). In addition, the strengthening mechanism revealed that strong internal stress and excellent dissipation ability of crack propagation energy of TiB2-graphite duplex structure made the composite with high flexural strength and fracture toughness.
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