Sintering Mechanism of Pure B4C Ceramic Prepared by Hot Oscillating Pressing and with Excellent Mechanical Properties

Abstract

Pure boron carbide (B4C) ceramics are sintered by hot oscillating pressing at temperatures of 1700–1900 °C for different soaking times. The densification mechanism, grain growth kinetics, and mechanical properties obtained under these sintering conditions are systematically investigated. It is found that the fully densified B4C ceramic is obtained at 1900 °C within 120 min, possessing an excellent combination of hardness (≈38.5 GPa) and fracture toughness (4.8 MPa m1/2). The densification mechanisms during sintering are as follows: viscous flow at the initial stage (relative density D ranged from 55% to 65%) under 1700 °C; lattice diffusion/grain boundary diffusion at the sintering stage (62% <  < 75%) of 1800 and 1850 °C; grain boundary sliding by dislocation motion at the late stage (65% <  < 82%) of 1700 °C and the sintering stage (75% < D < 90%) at 1800–1900 °C; and dislocation gliding and stacking faults at the final stage (90% < D < 95%) occurring at 1850–1900 °C. The dislocation motion exhibits a critical impact on the densification process of the hot oscillating–pressed B4C ceramic. The grain growth kinetics at 1900 °C is controlled by grain boundary diffusion.