PRESSURELESS SINTERING OF B4C-NANOTiB2 NANOCOMPOSITE BY ADDITION OF Fe AND Ni AS SINTERING AIDS

B4C and its composites with TiB2 as second phase continues to be extensively used as the preferred ceramic material in military applications as armor systems for absorbing and dissipating kinetic energy from high velocity projectiles. It also exhibits a high melting point (2427 °C), and high neutron absorption cross section. Pressureless sintering of the B 4C-nanoTiB2 nanocomposite using small amount of Fe and Ni (≤3 Wt%) as sintering aids was investigated in order to clarify the role of Fe and Ni additions on the mechanical and microstructural properties of B4C-nanoTiB2 nanocomposites. Different amount of Fe and Ni, mainly 1 to 3 Wt% were added to the base material. Pressureless sintering was conducted at 2175, 2225 and 2300 °C. It was found that Addition of 3 Wt% Fe and 3 wt% Ni and sintering at 2300 °C resulted in improving the density of the samples to about 99% of theoretical density. The nanocomposite samples exhibited high density, hardness, and microstructural uniformity.