Creep in boron carbide (B4C)

Abstract

Boron carbide is an excellent choice for high-temperature applications because of its properties. These are high hardness, high elastic modulus high thermal conductivity at room temperature, low thermal expansion, electrical conductivity, and its very high melting point (2447 °C). Moreover, it has a large neutron-capture cross section (∼4000 barn), which makes B4C a possible candidate for use in nuclear reactor components. Despite all these properties, it is puzzling that investigations of creep are lacking in the case of B4C. A climb-glide power-law creep model is one concept regarding the mechanism. The density of dislocations and the presence of pileups support this creep model in B4C. It was also suggested that vacancy diffusion model is operating during B4C creep.