Industrial Consultancy & Sponsored Research (IC&SR) , IIT Madras
A Low Temperature Method for Fabrication of Dense Boron Carbide Composites
Categories for this Invention
Category-
Advanced materials and Manufacturing
Industry Classification:
- NIC (2008)- 23935- Manufacture of ceramic laboratory, chemical and industrial products
- NAICS (2022)- 327110- Pottery, Ceramics, and Plumbing Fixture Manufacturing; 339113– Bulletproof vests manufacturing
- Applications– Manufacturing of Neutron absorber, Body Armor material, Blast nozzles, cutting tools, control rods
Market Drivers-
- From 2023 to 2033, the boron carbide market is projected to exhibit a 5.3% CAGR. It is anticipated to rise at a valuation of US$ 153.9 million in 2023
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Problem Statement
- Processing of Boron carbide is extremely difficult due to its covalent nature and low diffusion coefficient.
- It requires high temperatures (> 2100 °C) and pressures (30-40 MPa) for densification.
- Such processing conditions are expensive and also favor grain coarsening which degrades the mechanical properties.
- There is a need for an improved approach for low temperature sintering processes for fabricating dense B4C components.
Technology
- The process consists of sintering of B4C composite at Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS) temperature of 1400°C and 50 MPa pressure using mechanically activated Ti-B as sintering aid
- Mechanical activation of Titanium and Boron powder in the ratio 5:95 (by weight) followed by ball milling for 4h for homogeneity and better dispersion
- Spark plasma sintering was carried out at 1400 ËšC with a heating rate of 100 9 ËšC/min and hold time of 10 min at peak temperature with 50 MPa pressure.
- The grain size of the Boron carbide obtained was approximately 15-20 μm with no porosity
- The hardness of the sample measured form Vickers micro hardness tester was ~29 GPa
Key Features / Value Proposition
- The invention enables fabrication of B4C composites at 1400°C compared to conventional technologies that require a minimum temperature of 1700°C.
- The calculated theoretical density of the composite is 3.27 g/cc while the measured density of 3.35 g/cc indicates that the achieved density is almost same as the theoretical density. Whereas, prior art processes have reported achievement of only 95-98% of theoretical density.
- Fine grain size and no porosity enhance suitability of the obtained composites for high performance applications.
- The low temperature process reduces fabrication costs without compromising on mechanical properties.
Questions about this Technology?
Contact For Licensing
sm-marketing@imail.iitm.ac.in
ipoffice2@iitm.ac.in
Research Lab
Prof. Srinivasa Rao Bakshi
Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering
Intellectual Property
- IITM IDF Ref. 1794
- IN 376105- Patent Granted
Technology Readiness Level
TRL – 4
Technology validated in lab scale.