High Temperature Oxidation Behavior of the B<sub>4</sub>C/BN Composites

Abstract

The B4C/BN composites were fabricated by hot-pressing process. The microstructure, mechanical properties and oxidation resistances of the B4C/BN composites were investigated. It was shown that the h-BN particles were distributed in the B4C ceramics matrix. The mechanical properties of the B4C/BN microcomposites and the B4C/BN nanocomposites decreased gradually with the increasing content of h-BN. The mechanical properties of the B4C/BN nanocomposites were significantly improved in comparison with the B4C/BN microcomposites. The oxidation processes were performed at 1000oC, 1100oC, 1200oC, 1300oC for 20h. The oxidation curves of the B4C monolith, the B4C/BN microcomposites and the B4C/BN nanocomposites decreased gradually with the increase of oxidation temperature and oxidation time. The specimen’s weight and the oxidation resistance decreased gradually with the increase of oxidation temperature and oxidation time. The specimens remained good oxidation resistance at 1000oC; the oxidation resistance decreased remarkably at 1300oC. The decreasing specimen’s weight was attributed to the evaporation of B2O3 which produced by oxidation process of B4C and h-BN. The phase composition and microstructure of specimen’s surface after oxidation process were investigated by XRD and SEM.