Boron Carbide Powders
Boron Carbide is a high performance abrasive material with chemical and physical properties similar to diamond (chemical resistance and hardness). It is so hard that is has been nicknamed "Black Diamond", and has become one of the leading grinding materials. Ceramic grades as well as nuclear grades for neutron absorption are available.
Boron carbide powder - main application areas:
- Nuclear Applications, Radiation Absorption, NQA1 Certified
- Body, Vehicle, Building Armor
- Sapphire Lapping, Wire Saw Slicing, and Polishing Applications
- General application grades for Abrasive, Lapping, Polishing, Antioxidant, etc
- Boronizing, Polishing, Lapping, Sintering, Antioxidant
- Hot Pressing, Ballistic Armor, Body Armor, Vehicle Armor
Availability of particle sizes:
Boron carbide grit sizes correspond to the specifications of the
Federation of European Producers of Abrasive Products (FEPA):
| F100 (150/106 mkm) | F220 (75/45 mkm) | F360 (40/12 mkm)
| F800 (14/2 mkm) |
| F120 (125/90 mkm) | F240 (70/28 mkm) | F400 (32/8 mkm)
| F1000 (10/1 mkm) |
| F150 (106/63 mkm) | F280 (59/22 mkm) | F500 (25/5 mkm) | F1200 (7/1 mkm) |
| F180 (90/53 mkm) | F320 (49/16.5 mkm) | F600 (19/3 mkm) | F1500 (<5 mkm) |
Other sizes in FEPA and USA Mesh System are available on request.
Boron Carbide for Wire Saw Slicing: Our boron carbide powder is specifically developed to deliver the optimum performance and excellent process control in wire saw slicing of the sapphire products. Starting with chemistry of the raw materials and continue through every manufacturing step: furnacing, crushing, chemical cleansing, crushing (with grain shaping emphasis), and multi-stage grading process every effort is made to insure proper powder performance.
| UKA Grade | Typical FEPA Grade | Typical Application |
| B4C-SWS | F360 (40/12 mkm) or F400 (32/8 mkm), | Wire saw slicing |
| B4C-SP | F400 (32/8 mkm), | Lapping |
Technical data| • Appearance (dry state): | Color | Black |
| • Chemical composition: | Chemical formula: | B4C Application |
| Grade | Abrasive | Ceramic | Refractory | Nuclear |
| B + C min. | 98 |
| 94 | 98
|
| B (Boron) min. | 74 | 74 | 77 | 76
|
| C (Carbon) max. | 24 | 22 | 17 | 24
|
| B2O3 | 0.50 |
| 1.0 | 0.1
|
| Fe (Iron) max. | 0.2 |
| 0.5 | 0.1
|
| Si (Silicon) | - |
| 0.3 | 0.01
|
| N (Nitrogen) | - |
| 0.5 | 0.5
|
| • Physical data: |
|
|
|
|
|
| Knoop hardness (0.1) |
| 3000 |
| Mohs hardness |
| < 9.5 Note: Diamond’s Mohs hardness is 10 |
| Specific gravity: |
| 2.51 |
| Melting point: |
| 2723 °F |
| Structure: |
| Monocrystalline |
Common Nuclear Grades:
| UKA Grade | Average Particle Size | Typical Application | Notes |
| 1. | NG112M | 112 micron | Additive to concrete | B<75% |
| 2. | NG36L | 36 micron | B<70% |
| 3. | NG24H | 24 micron | Nuclear Shielding Panels, Reaction Control Rods, Etc. | B>76% |
| 4. | NG24HE | 24 micron | B>76% + Enhanced Heat Transfer Capability |
| 5. | NG100H | 100 micron | B>76% |
| 6. | NG100HE | 100 micron | B>76% + Enhanced Heat Transfer Capability |
| 7. | NG6H | 6 micron | B>76% |
| 8. | NG6HE | 6 micron | B>76% + Enhanced Heat Transfer Capability |
Diamond’s Mohs hardness is 10.
*Barn is unit of area equal to 10-24 sq. centimeters, used to measure cross sections in nuclear physics.