The effect of Si on the microstructure and mechanical properties of spark plasma sintered boron carbide

摘要: Abstract Fully dense boron carbide discs were achieved by spark plasma sintering powders with 10 wt% silicon. The silicon did not diffuse into grains to produce a solid solution of Si-doped carbide; instead the reacted impurities in starting powder form β-SiC and borosilicate glass. resultant new phases facilitated densification multiphase ceramic through liquid phase-assisted sintering. material exhibits improved hardness (34.3 GPa Vikers under 1 kg load) toughness comparable both Si-free commercially available carbide.