Gelcasting low-carbon B4C for cermets (Allison intern SULI paper)

Technical Report · Thu Aug 16 04:00:00 EDT 2018

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/1474333· OSTI ID:1474333

Pearson, Allison ^[1]; Lu, Ryan ^[2]; DuFrane, Wyatt ^[2]; Landingham, Richard ^[2]; Kuntz, Joshua ^[2]

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1. Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States). Functional Materials Synthesis Group; Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States)
2. Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States). Functional Materials Synthesis Group

A boron carbide (B₄C) gelcasting suspension involving melamine formaldehyde (MF) resin was developed to obtain green bodies with low carbon after pyrolysis. MF resin allows highly complicated B₄C parts to be produced with little to no shrinkage when gelcast into molds. A MF binder content of ~7.5 wt % consistently produced green bodies with sufficient strength to withstand demolding and handling. Variations in B₄C particle size, curing temperature, and pH were investigated in order to optimize the suspension for casting. Resin pyrolysis trials showed that 90.0 ± 0.9 wt % of resin mass was lost during pyrolysis, corresponding to < 1 wt % of binder residual in the overall green bodies. The minimal carbon content in the green bodies is favorable for the infiltration of aluminum into open pore spaces. Due to the high hardness of B₄C and the ductility of aluminum, the ceramic-metal (cermet) composite formed is ideal for applications such as light-weight armors.

• Research Organization: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)
• DOE Contract Number: AC52-07NA27344
• OSTI ID: 1474333
• Report Number(s): LLNL-TR--756666; 944093
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
42 ENGINEERING