Preparation of B<sub>4</sub>C-ZrB<sub>2 </sub> Laminated Composites by Non-Aqueous Tape Casting and Hot-Press Sintering

Abstract

B4C and ZrB2 ceramic tapes were prepared by non-aqueous tape casting with B4C and ZrB2 as main materials, xylene and n-butanol as binary solvent, castor oil as dispersant, polyvinyl butyral (PVB) as binder and dioctyl phthalate (DOP) as plasticizer. B4C-ZrB2 laminated composites were prepared by cutting, laminating, dumping and hot-press sintering. The experiment results indicated that ZrB2 ceramic tapes with high solid content of 48 wt.% could be prepared with 0.8 wt.% castor oil, 3.4 wt.% PVB and 6.8 wt.% DOP. Ceramic tapes have smooth surface, no crack and good ductility. B4C-ZrB2 laminated composites with high relative density of 97.8% were prepared by hot-press sintering under 2020°C sintering temperature, 30MPa pressure, 35 min hold temperature and pressure time. Their bending strength and fracture toughness were 488.6 MPa and 5.85 MPa·m1/2 respectively.