Reactive-sintering B4C matrix composite for armor applications

Abstract

The B4C matrix composite intended for armor applications still presents restrictions, such as low sintering density, production of large parts and inherited brittleness. Herein, research on this topic is discussed in detail. First, the material outlook of armor applications is organized from the development of composite armor and ceramic materials for armor to the B4C matrix composite and reactive-sintering method. In the second section, the technologies are reviewed for reactive pressureless sintering, reactive hot-pressing sintering, reactive discharge plasma sintering and self-propagating high-temperature sintering. Thereafter, our previous works on the TiB2/SiC/B4C composite and laminated Ti/B4C composite are employed to illustrate their microstructural evolution, phase transformation and fracture model. These studies provide a potential method for producing tough and high-strength ceramic composites for armor application. In the final section, the mechanism, evaluation method and influencing factors of anti-penetration for ceramic armor and B4C matrix composite are reviewed.