Sintering characteristics and microstructure of WC-Co-VC/Cr_3C_2 ultrafine cemented carbides

The sintering characteristics, microstructure, and mechanical properties of ultrafine WC-12%Co-0.2%VC/0.5%Cr3C2 cemented carbides were investigated. Dilatometric and differential thermal analyses （DTA） indicate that the compacts start to shrink at 600°C, the shrinkage rate peak is at 1190°C, and the liquid formation temperature is lower than the W-C-Co eutectic temperature （1330°C）. Microstructure analysis results show that the cemented carbides with fine and homogeneous microstructure were obtained when sintered at 1430°C. Continuous and discontinuous grain growth was suppressed due to the synergistic action of VC/Cr3C2. The transverse rupture strength （TRS） of the samples reaches 4286 MPa, with the hardness HRA 92.1. The fine and homogeneous microstructure, alloy strengthening, and different phase constitutions of binder in the cemented carbides result in high hardness and TRS. Continuous and discontinuous grain growth was observed in the cemented carbide sintered at 1450°C, which results in significant decreases of hardness and TRS. It indicates that VC/Cr3C2 additions in the cemented carbides can only suppress the grain growth at a certain temperature.

Mineralogical properties and co-sintering characteristics of fluxed iron ore with magnetite concentrates

To investigate the feasibility of co-sintering of fluxed iron ore with magnetite concentrates, the mineralogical properties of a novel fluxed iron ore were studied using particle size analysis, microscopic morphology characterization, and X-ray diffraction Rietveld analysis. Following that, the experiments for granulation performance and basic sintering characteristics were designed under seven different fluxed iron ore ratios, and the integrated ranking of different fluxed iron ore ratios was determined using gray relation analysis. Finally, the results of the industrial trails were combined with the feasibility analysis. Test and experimental results show that the fraction of the fluxed iron ore particles larger than 0.5 mm can account for more than 48%, and the particles have two morphologies: spherical-rough and flaky-smooth. Ca elements are found in the form of calcite (CaCO3) and dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2). The average particle size of granules and powder removal rate can be improved from 2.50 to 3.16 mm and 39.60% to 24.20%, respectively, with the increase in the fluxed iron ore ratio. Furthermore, the fluxed iron ore can improve assimilability and liquid fluidity of magnetite concentrates. In terms of overall granulation performance and sintering characteristics, the fluxed iron ore ratios are graded from best to worst as follows: 12%, 15%, 9%, 18%, 21%, 6% and 3%. The industrial trails show that when the fluxed iron ore ratio is increased, the beneficial effect of the superior sintering characteristics of the fluxed iron ore itself is ideally balanced with the negative effect of the lower amount of additional CaO at 12% ratio, and thus, it is feasible to bring the fluxed iron ore into production at a level of roughly 12%.

Influence of binder systems on sintering characteristics, microstructures, and mechanical properties of PcBN composites fabricated by SPS

Cubic boron nitride(cBN)with high hardness,thermal conductivity,wear resistance,and chemical inertness has become the most promising abrasive and machining material.Due to the difficulty of fabricating pure cBN body,generally,some binders are incorporated among cBN particles to prepare polycrystalline cubic boron nitride(PcBN).Hence,the binders play a critical factor to the performances of PcBN composites.In this study,the PcBN composites with three binder systems containing ceramic and metal phases were fabricated by spark plasma sintering(SPS)from 1400 to 1700℃.The sintering behaviors and mechanical properties of the composites were investigated.Results show that the effect of binder formulas on mechanical properties mainly related to the compactness,mechanical performances,and thermal expansion coefficient of binder phases,which affect the carrying capacity of the composites and the bonding strength between binder phases and cBN particles.The PcBN composite with SiAlON phase as binder presented optimal flexural strength(465±29 MPa)and fracture toughness(5.62±0.37 MPa·m^(1/2)),attributing to the synergistic effect similar to transgranular and intergranular fractures.Meanwhile,the excellent mechanical properties can be maintained a comparable level when the temperature even rises to 800℃.Due to the weak bonding strength and high porosity,the PcBN composites with Al_(2)O_(3)–ZrO_(2)(3Y)and Al–Ti binder systems exhibited inferior mechanical properties.The possible mechanisms to explain these results were also analyzed.

Preparation and Arc Erosion Characteristics of Ultrafine Crystalline CuCr50 Alloy by MA-SPS

The ultrafine crystalline CuCr50（Cr 50 wt%） alloys were fabricated by a combination of mechanical alloying and spark plasma sintering process. The effects of milling time on crystallite size and solid solubility of the CuCr50 composite powders were investigated. The results showed that crystallite size of powders decreases gradually and solid solubility of Cr in Cu was extended with increasing milling time. The minimal crystallite size about 10 nm and the maximum solid solubility about 8.4 at%（i e, 7 wt%） were obtained at 60 h. The microstructure of ultrafine crystalline CuCr50 alloy was analyzed by SEM and TEM, which contains two kinds of size scale Cr particles of 2 μm and 50-150 nm, distributing homogeneously in matrix, respectively. The arc erosion characteristics of ultrafine crystalline CuCr50 alloy were investigated by the vacuum contact simulation test device in low D.C. voltage and low current（24 V/10 A）. A commercial microcrystalline CuCr50 alloy was also investigated for comparison. Experiments indicate that the cathode mass loss of ultrafine crystalline CuCr50 contact material is higher than that of microcrystalline CuCr50 material, but its eroded surface morphology by the arc is uniform without obvious erosion pits. While the surface of microcrystalline CuCr50 contact is seriously eroded in local area by the arc, an obvious erosion pit occurred in the core part. Therefore, the ability of arc erosion resistance of ultrafine crystalline CuCr50 alloy is improved compared to that of microcrystalline CuCr50 material.

Melting Characteristics and Wettability of Binding Phase in Sinter

The melting characteristics and wettability of the binding phase in high basicity sinter were studied. By changing nCaO∶nFe2O3 （molar ratio of CaO to Fe2O3） as well as the percentage of MgO,SiO2,and Al2O3,the melting characteristics and wettability of the binding phase were discussed. The results indicated that the characteristic melting temperature was the lowest and wettability was the best at nCaO∶nFe2O3=1∶1 （without addition）; the addition of MgO increased the characteristic melting temperature and contact angles; when the percentage of SiO2 or Al2O3 was 3%,the characteristic melting temperature was the lowest,whereas the contact angles increased with an increase in SiO2 and Al2O3 contents.