BORON CARBIDE (B4C) POWDERS AND GRAINS AS FILLERS, BORON SOURCES AND SINTERING AIDS
ESK has been a manufacturer of boron carbide (B4C) since 1940, and is now the biggest producer in the western world.
TETRABOR® boron carbide belongs to the most important group of non-metallic hard materials. By virtue of the manufacturing process, TETRABOR® has a constant high purity. It contains almost the exact theoretical ratio of boron to carbon of 4.3. TETRABOR® boron carbide is available in narrow ranges of grain sizes and grain mixtures (approx. 1 to 20 000 µm). Thanks to their versatility, our powders are characterized by excellent properties, such as:
- Extreme hardness
- High chemical resistance
- Outstanding heat resistance
- High boron content
Applications
- Precursor for the production of boron halides and metal borides (e.g. Boron Trichloride BCI3)
The high boron content of almost 80 % makes TETRABOR® boron carbide an inexpensive boron source.
- Sintering and hot pressing powder for the manufacture of sintered boron carbide parts
TETRABOR® boron carbide is ideally suited thanks to its high chemical purity and constant delivery quality. It has virtually the theoretical density of 2510 kg/m3 - Filler for polymers, metals, concrete, etc.
For absorption and particle reinforcement - Constituent of electrode materials for wear protection
The extreme hardness of TETRABOR® boron carbide (9.5+ N/mm2 Mohs scale) makes it ideally suited for wear protection in welding and thermal spraying.
| Boron Carbide | |||
| Material properties | Norm | Symbol/Unit | TETRABOR® |
| Density | DIN EN 623-2 | ρ [g/cm3] | >2.48 |
| Porosity | DIN EN 623-2 | P [%] | <0.5 |
| Mean grain size | [μm] | <10 | |
| Phase composition | B4C, C | ||
| Vickers hardness | DIN EN 843-4 | HV 1 [GPa] | 26 |
| Knoop hardness | DIN EN 843-4 | HK 0.1 [GPa] | 27 |
| Young's modulus | DIN EN 843-2 | E [GPa] | 410 |
| Weibull modulus | DIN EN 843-5 | m | 15 |
| Flexural strength, 4-pt bending | DIN EN 843-1 | σB [MPa] | 460 |
| Compressive strength | DIN 51104 | σD [MPa] | >2800 |
| Poisson ratio | DIN EN 843-2 | ν | 0.18 |
| Fracture toughness (SENB) | Klc [MPa·m0,5] | 5 | |
| Coefficient of thermal expansion | DIN EN 821-1 | ||
| 25°C - 500°C | α [10-6/K] | 4.5 | |
| 500°C - 1000°C | α [10-6/K] | 6.3 | |
| Specific heat at 25°C | DIN EN 821-3 | cp [J/g K] | 0.94 |
| Thermal conductivity at 25°C | DIN EN 821-2 | λ [W/m K] | 36 |
| Thermal stress parameters | calculated | ||
| R1 = σB·(1-ν) / (α·E) | [K] | 204 | |
| R2 = R1·λ | [W/mm] | 7 | |
| Specific electrical resistance at 25°C |
DIN EN 50359 | ρ [Ω cm] | 1 |
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