Microstructure, Mechanical Characteristics, and Wear Performance of Spark Plasma Sintered TiB[sub.2]–Si[sub.3]N[sub.4] as Affected by B[sub.4]N Doping

• Published in: Materials 2022-10, Vol.15 (20)
• Main Authors: Ramesh, Balasubramanian, Showman, Essmat, Abraar, S. A. Muhammed, Saxena, Kuldeep Kumar, Tharwan, Mohammed Y, Alsaadi, Naif, Al Sofyani, Sharaf, Elsheikh, Ammar H
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Hardness; Mechanical properties; Sintering
• ISSN: 1996-1944; 1996-1944
• DOI: 10.3390/ma15207096

This study aims to analyze the effect of boron nitride (B[sub.4]N) additive (3-6%) on the densification, microstructure, mechanical properties, and wear performance of TiB[sub.2]-15%Si[sub.3]N[sub.4] and TiB[sub.2]-30%Si[sub.3]N[sub.4] sintered composites. When the B[sub.4]N (3%) was added to the TiB[sub.2]-30Si[sub.3]N[sub.4] composite, the density increased to 99.5%, hardness increased to 25.2 MPa, and the fracture toughness increased to 4.62 MPam[sup.1/2]. Microstructural analysis shows that in situ phases such as TiB[sub.2] help to improve the relative mechanical characteristics. However, raising the B[sub.4]N additive to 6% in the above-sintered composite reduces the composites' relative density and hardness. The tested sintered composites demonstrated that their superior wear resistance can be attributed to their increased density and hardness.