Microhardness of Boron Carbide Composites Reinforced With High Entropy Alloy: Statistical Analysis

Abstract

Boron carbide (B4C) is widely recognized as one of the most promising ceramic materials due to its high hardness, low density and chemical stability in aggressive environments. B4C is used in many high demanding engineering fields such as tribological, refractory, nuclear or ballistic industry. However, worldwide research continues into improving its properties so that it can replace diamonds in different industrial applications. A recent strategy for improving its mechanical properties has been to incorporate high-entropy alloys (HEA) as reinforcement, taking advantage of the complexity of their multi-element configurations to induce synergies at the microstructural level. This paper presents a detailed statistical study of the microhardness of B4C-based composites reinforced with different percentages of HEA and compares it with a monolithic B4C sample manufactured under the same conditions. The objective is to quantify the variability of the mechanical response and establish significant trends associated with the reinforcement content.