Reactive-sintering B₄C matrix composite for armor applications

The B₄C matrix composite intended for armor applications still presents restrictions, such as low sintering density, production of large parts and inherited brittleness. Herein, research on this topic is discussed in detail. First, the material outlook of armor applications is organized from the development of composite armor and ceramic materials for armor to the B₄C matrix composite and reactive-sintering method. In the second section, the technologies are reviewed for reactive pressureless sintering, reactive hot-pressing sintering, reactive discharge plasma sintering and self-propagating high-temperature sintering. Thereafter, our previous works on the TiB₂/SiC/B₄C composite and laminated Ti/B₄C composite are employed to illustrate their microstructural evolution, phase transformation and fracture model. These studies provide a potential method for producing tough and high-strength ceramic composites for armor application. In the final section, the mechanism, evaluation method and influencing factors of anti-penetration for ceramic armor and B₄C matrix composite are reviewed.