Hardness and Fracture Toughness of Pressureless‐Sintered Boron Carbide (B ₄ C)

Abstract

This is a companion work to our previous study on the pressureless sintering of boron carbide (B 4 C). The Vickers hardness and indentation fracture toughness of B 4 C compacts were measured after various sintering heat treatments. Increases in hardness and decreases in indentation fracture toughness as the grain size decreased in sintered B 4 C were attributed to the effects of more rapid strain hardening associated with dislocation pileups at grain boundaries.