Effect of micro-doping yttrium oxide on hot-press sintering of boron carbide

Abstract

Dense B₄C composites were fabricated by hot-press sintering using B₄C and nano-scale yttrium oxide as the raw materials. The effects of Y₂O₃ content and sintering temperature on the microstructure and mechanical properties of B₄C composites were studied. And the grain growth mechanism and the strengthening and toughening mechanism were discussed. B₄C-1 wt% Y₂O₃ composites (sintering temperature: 2000 °C, pressure: 30 MPa, dwell time: 1 min) have the best properties, with the relative density of 99.6%, bending strength of 588 MPa and fracture toughness of 5.0 MPa·m^1/2. Abnormal grain growth was found in B₄C-Y₂O₃ composites, including twins and coarse grains. The grain growth is affected by the complex interaction of yttrium oxide and the grain boundary of boron carbide. The toughening mechanism of B₄C composites follows self-toughening and twinning-toughening, and the transgranular fracture and intergranular fracture coexist.

Keywords

boron carbide / yttrium oxide / hot-press sintering / grain growth

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