A review on mechanical and tribological characterization of boron carbide reinforced epoxy composite

This article is a review of the properties of boron carbide (B4C)-reinforced polymer composites. B4C have recently become attractive to researchers, engineers, and scientists as an alternative reinforcement for polymer composites due to its attractive physical and mechanical characteristics. The tensile strength of the B4C-reinforced epoxy was lower than the neat epoxy due to the poor bonding of the materials. Various surface treatments of the reinforcement were suggested in the literature to improve the bonding between the reinforcement and the matrix. B4C addition improved the elastic modulus of the epoxy. No clear trend was observed for the flexural behavior of the same. It was mainly dependent on the type of epoxy used and size and concentration of reinforcement. A higher B4C particulate addition in epoxy improved the hardness values of the composites. There was a marginal improvement in the shear strength of the B4C-reinforced composites. The commonly observed plasticization tendency of epoxy after moisture absorption was less severe when epoxy was reinforced with B4C particulates. Poor anchoring of B4C particulates in the resin hampered the wear resistance of the composite. The situation further worsens after moisture absorption. However, cavitation erosion behavior of the composite improved and limited to localized areas.