Properties and ballistic tests of strong B4C-TiB2 composites densified by gas pressure sintering

B4C-TiB2 composites with classical 75/25 vol ratio were sintered by pressureless sintering with and without gas pressure application in the final stage of densification, using a novel prototypal furnace. A small fraction of WC was introduced through high energy milling of the starting powders with WC-Co spheres. High energy milling facilitated the densification thanks to incorporation of WC impurities acting as sintering aid, and size reduction of the starting powders. Strength, stiffness and toughness of the ceramic densified at 2050 oC via gas pressure sintering were even better than hot pressed composites at 1900 oC. Depth of Penetration tests on plates with 3-5 mm thickness demonstrated that the gas pressure sintered material had a superior performance compared to the hot pressed one. This work also revealed that hardness was not the property spotting the best ballistic performance.