Wetting and interface interactions in the B4C/Al–Me (MeCu, Sn) systems

The wettability of B4C in contact with non-carbide and non-boride forming liquid metals (such as Cu or Sn) has been the subject of several studies. These metals do not wet boron carbide unless a reactive element is added to the melt. The present study is concerned with the addition of Al which completes the series of reactive elements added to the non-wetting metals. While Si represents the elements that form stable carbides and Ti represents the elements that form stable borides, Al belongs to the group of elements that form ternary borocarbides. The wetting experiments in the B4C/(Me–Al, MeCu, Sn) systems have shown that a ternary product, namely Al8B4C7 was formed at the interface and that wetting is governed by the thermodynamic properties of the binary liquid system.