B4C/Al Composites Processed by Metal-assisted Pressureless Infiltration Technique and its Characterization

In order to improve the wettability between Al melt and B4C ceramic preform during fabricating B4C/Al composites by pressureless infiltration technique, trace amount of Ti particulates with high melting point was added into the starting materials as infiltration inducer. A simple and cost-effective method, metal-assisted pressureless infiltration technique, was developed to fabricate light-weight B4C/Al composites. The microstructure, phases, and mechanical behavior of B4C/Al composites were characterized by SEM, XRD, and mechanical property test. The density of the as-fabricated B4C/Al composites was about 2.75 g/cm 3 and the relative density of this kind of composites was over 97%. The as-fabricated B4C/Al composites exhibited rather well wear resistance. The flexural and compressive strengths of the as-fabricated B4C/Al composites were about 200MPa and 670 MPa, respectively.