Effect of Al addition on pressureless sintering of B4C

The effect of Al addition on pressureless sintering of B4C ceramic was analyzed in the present work. Different amounts of Al, from 0 to 5 wt.% were added to the base material and pressureless sintering was conducted at 2050 and 2150 T under argon atmosphere. Microstructure, crystal phases and density evolution were studied and correlated to Al additions and firing temperature. Density and grain size of sintered samples, increased significantly with Al load while less evidence is the effect of sintering temperature; 94% dense material was obtained by adding 4 wt.% Al regardless of the maximum firing temperature. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd and Techna Group S.r.l. All rights reserved.