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Continuum modeling of B4C densification during Spark Plasma Sintering

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Abstract

Boron carbide (B4C) powder was consolidated at 45 MPa by Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS) for 20 min from 1450 to 2000 °C. The density of the B4C reached 99.6% at 2000 °C. A continuum model was applied to describe the densification mechanism of B4C powder under SPS conditions. The shrinkage rate was sensitive to particle size and temperature. The effect of porosity on thermal diffusion was significant, especially for small particle sizes. It appears that there is Joule heating, discharge, and electromagnetic field involved during the SPS of B4C. The current can enhance the sintering process, and it can obviously reduce the creep activation energy.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This work is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 51301210), supported by State Key Laboratory of Powder Metallurgy of Central South University and State Key Laboratory of New Ceramic and Fine Processing of Tsinghua University.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Science and Technology on High-Strength Structural Materials Laboratory, Central South University, Changsha, 410083, China

    Ji-an Liu, Fanhao Zeng, Zhihuan Zou, Yi Li & Fuqin Zhang

  2. School of Materials Science and Engineering, Central South University, Changsha, 410083, China

    Yi Gu

  3. State Key Laboratory of New Ceramic and Fine Processing, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China

    Tongxiang Liang

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  1. Ji-an Liu
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  2. Fanhao Zeng
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  3. Zhihuan Zou
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Correspondence to Fanhao Zeng.

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Liu, Ja., Zeng, F., Zou, Z. et al. Continuum modeling of B4C densification during Spark Plasma Sintering. Journal of Materials Research 32, 3425–3433 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1557/jmr.2017.205

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