Boron Fibres

Introduction
Inherently brittle material Produced by chemical vapour deposition

High temperature process

Limited substrate materials

Tungsten or Carbon fibre is used

Itself a composite fibre First boron fibre obtained by Weintraub in 1911 Commercial production started during 1960 At present, usage is very much limited

Fabrication
Thermal decomposition of a boron hydride
Involves low temperatures Carbon-coated glass fibres can be used Weak due to lack of adherence Much less dense owing to the trapped gases

Reduction of boron halide

2BX3 + 3H2 2B + 6HX
X Cl, Br, I

High temperature process Refractory material substrate heavy High & uniform quality fibres

Schematic of boron filament production by the CVD technique

Formation Temperature
Below critical temperature (CT)

Amorphous Crystalline

Above CT

Stationary wire

CT is 1000C CT is higher

Moving wire

CT increases with speed

Structure & Morphology

Structural defects & morphological irregularities deteriorate the mechanical properties Depend on the conditions of deposition

Composition of gases, gas dynamics, temperature,

etc.

Temperature gradients & trace impurities are process irregularities Greater irregularities caused by

Fluctuations in electric power Instability in gas flow Other operator induced variables

Structure
Depends on deposition conditions Melt/CVD above 1300C Lower temperature (<1300C) CVD at still lower temperatures (<CT) XRD shows large & diffuse halos Electron diffraction

-rhombohedral amorphous amorphous

-rhombohedral

Amorphous boron is actually nanocrystalline -rhombohedral

nanocrystalline (2nm dia.)

Reactions
Core may consist of a series of compounds

W2B, WB, W2B5, WB4 only WB4

Generally core consists of W2B5, WB4 On prolonged heating Core expands due to reaction

12.517.5m

Barrier coating
SiC barrier coating prevents adverse reaction

eg. between Al & B

SiC is vapour deposited using a mixture of H2 & methyl dichlorosilane

Corn-cob structure of boron fibre

Consisting of nodules separated by boundaries Nodule size varies during the course of fabrication

Residual stresses
Boron fibres have inherent residual stresses
Growth stresses in the nodules of boron Stresses induced by diffusion of boron into W core Stresses generated by difference in TEC Compressive stresses on surface due to quenching action

Residual stress pattern in boron fibre

Fracture characteristics
Brittle material

distribution of strengths not capable of deforming plastically Imperfections lead to stress concentrations

Cracks originate at preexisting defects located at boron-core interface/ surface Surface defects are due to nodular structure

Characteristic brittle fracture of B fibre

Radial cracks due to internal stresses Cracks run from within the core to just inside

Properties
Youngs modulus is 380-400 GPa Does not show intrinsic strength under tensile loading

Average tensile strength is 3-4 GPa Strength of 14 GPa observed

Intrinsic strength of B obtained in flexure test Density of 100 m B/W fibre is 2.6 g/cc Melting point is 2040C Thermal expansion coefficient is 8.3 X 10-6 C-1

Applications
Used in a number of military aircrafts

F-14, F-15 and US space shuttle

Used for stiffening golf shafts, tennis rackets and bicycle frames One big obstacle is high cost

Higher cost is due to the costly W substrate

Find out the final density of B fibre of diameter 100 m deposited on a W fibre of diameter 12.5 m. Density values of B & W are 2.34 & 19.3 g/cm3 respectively.