Microstructure and mechanical properties of TiB2–B4C ceramics fabricated by hot-pressing

In this study, TiB 2 –B 4 C composite ceramics were prepared using Y 2 O 3 and Al 2 O 3 as the sintering aids. Different contents of B 4 C were added to seek promoted comprehensive mechanical properties of the composites. The mixed powders were sintered at 1850 °C under a uniaxial loading of 30 MPa for 2 h via hot-pressing. Through the measurement of XRD, SEM and related mechanical properties, the influence of B 4 C content on the microstructure and mechanical properties of TiB 2 –B 4 C composites ceramics was discussed. The experimental results show that TiB 2 –B 4 C composite ceramics exhibit excellent mechanical properties, which can be attributed to the dense microstructure and fine grain size. In addition, TiB 2 –B 4 C composite ceramic shows a relatively high comprehensive properties when the addition amount of B 4 C is 20 wt%. The relative density, Vickers hardness, fracture toughness and flexural strength are measured to be 99.61%, 27.63 ± 1.73 GPa, 4.77 ± 0.06 MPa m 1/2 , 612.5 ± 28.78 MPa, respectively.