Microstructure, Mechanical Characteristics, and Wear Performance of Spark Plasma Sintered TiB(2)–Si(3)N(4) as Affected by B(4)N Doping

This study aims to analyze the effect of boron nitride (B(4)N) additive (3–6%) on the densification, microstructure, mechanical properties, and wear performance of TiB(2)–15%Si(3)N(4) and TiB(2)–30%Si(3)N(4) sintered composites. When the B(4)N (3%) was added to the TiB(2)–30Si(3)N(4) composite, the density increased to 99.5%, hardness increased to 25.2 MPa, and the fracture toughness increased to 4.62 MPam(1/2). Microstructural analysis shows that in situ phases such as TiB(2) help to improve the relative mechanical characteristics. However, raising the B(4)N additive to 6% in the above-sintered composite reduces the composites’ relative density and hardness. The tested sintered composites demonstrated that their superior wear resistance can be attributed to their increased density and hardness.