Abstract
Boron carbide (B 4 C), an important armored ceramic material with poor sinterability, is regarded as a potential bulletproof material for personnel and vehicles. Introducing sub-micron B 4 C powder into composite ceramics could be one approach to achieve promising high mechanical properties instead of micron and nano-grained B 4 C powders. Herein, sub-micron B 4 C powder was introduced into micron B 4 C powder as a “toughened phase” to construct additive-free sub-micron/micron mixed B 4 C ceramic via a hot-pressing process. The influence of sub-micron powder content on the relative density, microstructure and mechanical properties of the ceramics was investigated. For instance, the specimen containing 20% sub-micron B 4 C powder possessed enhanced mechanical properties with flexure strength of 488 MPa and fracture toughness of 3.48 MPa m 1/2 . Furthermore, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis reveals that the pores of the obtained sub-micron/micron B 4 C specimens were round instead of triangular and smaller compared with no sub-micron powder added specimens, which guarantee the high relative density and enhanced mechanical properties. These findings clarify the importance of sub-micron B 4 C powder in increased mechanical properties and may pave a new way to design of armored protective ceramics.
Published Version
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call