Mechanical Properties of B4C Ceramics Fabricated by a Hot-press Sintering

B4C ceramics were fabricated by a hot-press sintering method and their sintering behavior, microstructure and mechanical properties were evaluated. Relative density of B4C ceramics were obtained by a hot-press sintering method reached as high as 99% without any sintering additives. The mechanical properties of 134 degrees C ceramics was improved by a methanol washing process which can remove B2O3 phase from a B4C powder surface. This improvement results from the fornation of homogeneous microstructure because the grain coarsening was suppressed by the elimination of B2O3 phase. Particularly, mechanical properties of the sintered specimen using a methanol washed powder improved compared with the specimen using an as-received commercial powder.