Spark Plasma Sintering of Boron Carbide Powder
Abstract
The results presented in this article demonstrate that boron carbide ceramics of a perfect microstructure, of a high density (up to 99.8%) and microhardness (36.1 GPa) can be made from the industrial micron fraction powder thanks to spark plasma sintering, that opens prospects for wide SPS application in economical production of high-quality boron carbide ceramic products. Optimal ceramics production mode is based on B4C (technical powder), which makes the best combination of physical and mechanical properties and uniform
microstructure. The experimentally set mode of spark-plasma sintering of highdensity B4C ceramics allows to lower the sintering temperature by 300 ∘C and to shorten the process time by 20 minutes relative to the corresponding values when traditional hot pressing.
Keywords: spark - plasma sintering, boron carbide, density
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