PROPERTIES AND BALLISTIC BEHAVIOR OF PRESSURELESS SINTERED SIC/TIB2 COMPOSITES
Pressureless sintering of ceramics for armor applications offers the potential of greatly reduced cost and increased production volume. Previously it was shown that pure SiC could be made by pressureless sintering while achieving a ballistic performance slightly less than commercial SiC made by pressure-assisted densification (PAD). Additions of titanium diboride were made to pin the SiC grain size during pressureless sintering to achieve a final grain size closer to that found in PAD SiC and achieve improved ballistic performance. Silicon carbide/titanium diboride composites of various compositions were blended by various means, consolidated and pressureless sintered to near theoretical density. Additions of TiB2 were <10% by volume and increased the density of the material by less than 3% over that of pure SiC. Variations in the mixing techniques yielded composites with a range of TiB2 particle sizes. TiB2 additions hindered SiC grain growth and the formation of elongated grains during high temperature pressureless sintering. The microstructure of the composites is documented and compared to commercially available SiC material. The SiC/TiB2 composites demonstrated improved ballistic properties in Depth-of-Penetration (DOP) tests over pure, pressureless-sintered SiC material and approach that of SiC made by hot pressing.
- Research Organization:
- Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- DE-AC07-99ID-13727
- OSTI ID:
- 912347
- Report Number(s):
- INEEL/JOU-05-02622; TRN: US200801%%782
- Journal Information:
- The American Ceramic Society, Journal Name: The American Ceramic Society
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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