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Pressureless Sintering of Zirconium Diboride Using Boron Carbide and Carbon Additions
Author(s) -
Zhu Sumin,
Fahrenholtz William G.,
Hilmas Gregory E.,
Zhang Shi C.
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
journal of the american ceramic society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.9
H-Index - 196
eISSN - 1551-2916
pISSN - 0002-7820
DOI - 10.1111/j.1551-2916.2007.01936.x
Subject(s) - zirconium diboride , materials science , boron carbide , boron , fracture toughness , sintering , metallurgy , carbon fibers , relative density , indentation hardness , zirconium , carbide , flexural strength , composite material , microstructure , composite number , chemistry , organic chemistry
The synergistic roles of boron carbide and carbon additions in the enhanced densification of zirconium diboride (ZrB 2 ) by pressureless sintering have been studied. ZrB 2 was sintered to >99% relative density at 1900°C. The combination of 2 wt% boron carbide and 1 wt% carbon promoted densification by removing surface oxide impurities (ZrO 2 and B 2 O 3 ) and inhibiting grain growth. Four‐point bending strength (473±43 MPa), Vickers' microhardness (19.6±0.4 GPa), fracture toughness (3.5±0.6 MPa·m 1/2 ), and Young's modulus (507 GPa) were measured. Thermal gravimetry showed that the combination of additives did not have an adverse effect on the oxidation behavior.