Evaluation of Boron Carbide powder stability under accelerated aging

IF 2.9 Q1 MATERIALS SCIENCE, CERAMICS Open Ceramics Pub Date : 2025-02-17 DOI:10.1016/j.oceram.2025.100755

Amruth Kaitheri , Johannes Ofstad , Elvia Anabela Chavez Panduro , Martin Oppegård , Sanosh Kunjalukkal Padmanabhan , Sudipto Pal , Antonio Alessandro Licciulli , Vidar Johannesen , Trygve Eidet , Kjell Wiik , Mari-Ann Einarsrud

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Abstract

Boron carbide (B₄C) is a hard and durable ceramic used in aerospace, nuclear reactors, ballistic protection, etc. The stability of B₄C powders at ambient conditions has been investigated using accelerated ageing by heat treatment at 400 °C in controlled atmospheres. The degree of conversion of B₄C increased in the following order: Argon (no reaction), humidified argon (∼4 %), synthetic air (∼13 %) and humidified synthetic air (∼19 %). In humidified atmosphere, the reaction product was boric acid due to cooling in the presence of humidity. The high conversion in humidified synthetic air suggests that humidity accelerates the oxidation, and a reaction mechanism is proposed to explain the enhanced rate of oxidation. It is anticipated that the observed oxidation reactions are not limited to 400 °C but will also occur at ambient temperatures. This agrees with observations of reduced quality of the B₄C during storage in ambient atmosphere.

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