Comparative Study on Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Coarse-grained WC-based Cemented Carbides Sintered with Ultrafine WC or (W+C) as Additives

The effects of ultrafine WC(WC_(UF),0.5μm) or W(1μm) and C(0.3μm)(W+C)_(UF) additives on the densification,microstructure and mechanical properties of coarse-grained cemented carbides were compared systematically.Overall,the cemented carbides with WC_(UF)/(W+C)_(UF) additives are almost fully densification to be higher than 99%,and the average grain size is kept above 2.8μm.The WC_(UF) additive assists grains to(truncated)trigonal prism shape by two dimensional(2D) growth,whereas the(W+C)_(UF) additive assists grains to rounded shape by three dimensional(3D) growth,lowers WC contiguity and increases face-centered-cubic Co.The hardness and bending strength of(75WC_(C)-15WC_(UF))-10Co are 86.6 HRA and 2 272 MPa,respectively,both higher than those of(75WC_(C)-15(W+C)_(UF))-10Co,which could be ascribed to the enhanced densification and unblemished grains.However,the fracture toughness of the(75WC_(C)-15(W+C)_(UF))-10Co is 23.5 MPa·m^(1/2),higher than that of the(75WC_(C)-15WC_(UF))-10Co due to the uniform WC-Co structure and flexible binder phase.

Effect of Sintering Temperature on the Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Nanocrystalline Cemented Carbide

WC-Co nanocrystalline nitrogen-containing cemented carbides were prepared by vacuum sintering and low pressure sintering.The sintering processes of Cr_(2)(C,N)doped nano WC-Co powders were studied by using thermogravimetric analysis(TGA)and differential scanning calorimetry(DSC).The effect of sintering temperature on the microstructure and mechanical properties of nanocrystalline cemented carbide was studied by scanning electron microscope(SEM),high resolution transmission electron microscope(HRTEM)and mechanical property test.The results showed that the nano WC grains began to grow in the solid phase sintering stage.A high-performance nano-nitrogen-containing cemented carbide with uniform microstructure and good interfacial bonding can be obtained by increasing the sintering temperature to 1380℃.It has a transverse rupture strength(TRS)of 5057 MPa and a hardness of 1956 HV30.

Structures and Properties of Iron Matrix Composites with Tungsten Carbide Particle by EPC-V Process

In this paper the Expendable Pattern Casting with dry sand Vacuum(EPC-V) process is used to manufacture iron matrix composites with tungsten carbide particle.Microstructures of the composites layers were analyzed.The abrasive wear resistance of the composites layers were tested and compared with that of high chromium cast iron.The results show that the iron matrix composites with tungsten carbide particle have high hardness.The abrasive wear resistance of composites with tungsten carbide particle is higher than that of high chromium cast iron.The properties of the matrix materials have been improved remarkably.

THERMAL SHOCK FATIGUE BEHAVIORS OF CEMENTED CARBIDE YG20

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Effects of deep cryogenic treatment on microstructure and properties of WC-11Co cemented carbides with various carbon contents

The effects of deep cryogenic treatment on the microstructure and properties of WC-11 Co cemented carbides with various carbon contents were investigated.The results show that after deep cryogenic treatment,WC grains are refined into triangular prism with sound edges via the process of spheroidization,but WC grain size has no evident change compared with that of untreated alloys.The phase transformation of Co phase from α-Co（FCC） to ε-Co（HCP） is observed in the cryogenically treated alloys,which is attributed to the decrease of W solubility in the binder（Co）.Deep cryogenic treatment enhances the hardness and bending strength of the alloys,while it has no significant effects on the density and cobalt magnetic performance.

Computer-Aided Design of Some Advanced Steels and Cemented Carbides

Thermodynamic and kinetic study on TRIP （transformation induced plasticity） steels, cemented carbides and mold steel for plastics were carried out in order to design modern advanced materials. With the sublattice model, equilibrium compositions of ferrite and austenite phases in TRIP steels, as well as volume fraction of austenite at inter-critical temperatures for different time were calculated. Concentration profiles of carbon, manganese, aluminum and silicon in the steels were also estimated in the lattice fixed frame of reference. The effect of Si and Mn on TRIP was discussed according to thermodynamic and kinetic analyses. In order to understand and produce the graded nanophase structure of cemented carbides, miscellaneous phases in the M-Co-C （M= Ti, Ta, Nh） systems and Co-V-C system were modeled. Solution parameters and thermodynamic： properties were listed in detail. The improvement of machining behavior of prehardened mould steel for plastics was obtained by computer-aided composition design. The results showed that the matrix composition of large-section prehardened mould steel for plastic markedly influences the precipitation of non-metallic inclusion and the composition control by the aid of Thermo-Calc software package minimizes the amount of detrimental oxide inclusion. In addition, the modification of calcium was optimized in composition design.

Preparation and properties of Ni-coated WC powder and highly impact resistant and corrosion resistant WC-Ni cemented carbides

WC powders were uniformly coated by Ni nanoparticles through a combined chemical co-precipitation and subsequent high temperature hydrogen reduction strategy(abbreviated as CM-WCN),and then were consolidated by vacuum sintering at 1450°C for 1 h to obtain WC−Ni cemented carbides.The microstructure and properties of the as-consolidated CM-WCN were investigated.The average grain size of WC in the consolidated CM-WCN was calculated to be in the range of 3.0−3.8μm and only few pores were observed.A relative density of 99.6%,hardness of HRA 86.5 and bending strength of 1860 MPa were obtained for the CM-WCN−10wt.%Ni,and the highest impact toughness of 6.17 J/cm^(2 )was obtained for the CM-WCN−12wt.%Ni,surpassing those of the hand mixed WC−Ni(HM-WCN)cemented carbides examined in this study and the other similar materials in the literature.CM-WCN cemented carbides possess excellent mechanical properties,due to their highly uniform structure and low porosity that could be ascribed to the intergranular-dominated fracture mode accompanied by a large number of plastic deformation tears of the bonding phase.In addition,the corrosion resistance of CM-WCN was superior to that of HM-WCN at the Ni content of 6−12 wt.%.

Effect of VC and NbC additions on microstructure and properties of ultrafine WC-10Co cemented carbides

The nanocomposite WC-Co powders were prepared through planetary ball milling method.Effects of grain growth inhibitor addition and the vacuum sintering parameters on the microstructure and properties of ultrafine WC-10Co cemented carbides were investigated using X-ray diffractometer,scanning electron microscope and mechanical property tester.The results show that VC and NbC additions can refine the WC grains,decrease the volume fraction of Co3W3C phase in ultrafine WC-10Co cemented carbides,and increase the hardness and fracture toughness of the base alloys.After sintering for 60 min at 1 400℃,the average grain size and hardness of ultrafine-grained WC-10Co-1VC cemented carbide are 470 nm and HRA 91.5,respectively.The fracture toughness of cemented carbide WC-10Co-1NbC alloy is over 7 MN·m -3/2 .

Effect of Electromagnetic Compound Treatment on Microstructure and Performance of Cemented Carbide

In order to study the effect of electromagnetic compound treatment on the mechanical property, cutting performance and microstructure of cemented carbide, the samples were treated by a self-made electromagnetic compound treatment device with different magnetic field strength(H=1, 1.25 and 1.5 T). The electromagnetic compound treatment method was proposed to couple pulsed magnetic field and pulsed current. The results show that after the pulsed magnetic field treatment, the values of the transverse rupture strength of the samples were respectively reduced by 21%, 20.6% and 20.1%;the cutting performance was decreased by about 4.5%, which means the tool life was decreased. After the electromagnetic compound treatment, the values of the transverse rupture strength of the rectangular samples were respectively increased by 8%, 8.6% and 9.5%, and the tool life was increased by 4.2%, 7% and 10.3%. After the electromagnetic compound treatment, the pulse current provided the driving force for dislocation motion. A strong pulse current driving force is more likely to make the dislocation multiply and slip. A high density dislocation cell is formed within the material, so the mechanical properties were significantly increased.

Crack Growth Behavior in Cemented Carbide by Repeated Thermal Shock

In this study, fatigue crack growth (FCG) behavior of cemented carbide under the repeated thermal shock (RTS) was experimentally evaluated by using the thermal-shock experiment method developed by the authors. Tests were carried out using cemented carbide having two different WC crystal grain sizes. In addition, FCG behavior under rotating bending fatigue (RBF) test was investigated using the same cemented carbides. Then the FCG results obtained by the RTS test and the results of the RBF test obtained at stress ratio, R = -1, were compared with each other. Here, the stress ratio R is defined as, R = σmin/σmax;σmin and σmax are the minimum and the maximum stresses, respectively. From this comparison, it was found that the relation between the rate of fatigue crack growth (FCG) and the maximum stress intensity factor in the RTS tests was equivalent to the one obtained under the RBF tests at stress ratio of -1. From a practical point of view, this result is important as it indicates that it is not necessary to purposely perform RTS experiments. In this research, the effect of WC grain size on the short surface FCG behavior of the cemented carbide was also studied and discussed.

Rare Earth Doped New Cemented Carbide with Ni-Co Binder for Mining

A method, doping WC with La(NO 3) 3, of producing cemented carbide with rare earth was introduced. The effects of lanthanum on the mechanical properties and microstructure of WC 9(Co 75%Ni) cemented carbide were studied and a rock drilling experiment was carried out.The experimental results show that both transverse rupture strength (TRS) and hardness of WC 9(Co 75%Ni) rare earth cemented carbides can match that of WC 9Co cemented carbide, when La 2O 3 / (Co+Ni) ratio is 0.3%, the abnormal growth of WC grain in the cemented carbide can be restrained effectively, the homogeneity of grain size in microstructure and the wear resistance are improved, which can be matchable to that of WC 9Co cemented carbide for mining.

Microstructure and formation process of Ni-pool defect in WC-8Ni cemented carbides

The morphologies and formation process of Ni-pool defects in WC?8Ni cemented carbides were studied. The SEM images show that Ni-pool generally has two kinds of morphologies: “island” in isolation and “ring” around a new phase. In the obtained samples with “ring-like Ni-pool”, WC, Ni and Ni2W4C (η phase) phases were detected in XRD patterns. Combined with SEM, EDX and XRD results, it is found that the phase in the center of the “ring-like Ni-pool” is Ni2W4C (η phase) and the main chemical components of Ni-pool are Ni, W and C. In addition, the relationships among large size Ni (agglomerated) particles, volatile impurities, pores and carbon content vs forming process of the Ni-pool defects for WC?8Ni cemented carbides are also presented and discussed.

PERFORMANCE OF BRAZED DIAMOND CUP-TYPE WHEELS WITH DEFINED GRAIN PATTERN IN GRINDING CEMENTED CARBIDE

A new cup-type grinding wheel of the brazed monolayer diamond is developed with a defined grain pattern on the wheel surface. Grinding performance of the brazed wheel in the surface grinding of cemented carbide is studied. Experimental results show that when continuous dry grinding is employed, grits of the brazed diamond grinding wheel fail mainly in attritious wear and fracture modes and no pull-out ones are found in conventional electroplated and sintered diamond wheels. It indicates the strong retention of brazing alloy to diamond grits and the longer service life of the wheel. In addition, the ground surface has good roughness. The theoretical surface roughness agrees well with experimental results.

Effects of Ta C on microstructure and mechanical properties of coarse grained WC-9Co cemented carbides

Coarse grained WC-9Co cemented carbides with 0-1.0% TaC(mass fraction) were fabricated by HIP-sintering and gas quenching. The effects of TaC on the microstructures and mechanical properties were investigated using scanning electron microscopy(SEM), energy dispersive X-ray analysis(EDS), X-ray diffractometry(XRD) and mechanical properties tests. The results show that the maximum values of hardness and strength are HV 1124 and 2466 MPa respectively when 0.4% TaC is added. When the content of TaC is more than 0.6%, the grain size of WC is no longer affected by the amount of TaC, and(W,Ta)C occurs as well. Moreover, the strength and fracture toughness increase and the(Ta+W) content decreases with the increase of TaC content. The dependence of(Ta+W) content on the mechanical properties indicates that(Ta+W) content in Co should be decreased as low as possible to improve the mechanical properties of coarse grained WC-TaC-9Co cemented carbides with the microstructure of WC+γ two phase regions.

Effects of nano-Al_2O_3 and nano-ZrO_2 on the microstructure, behavior and abrasive wear resistance of WC-8Co cemented carbide

WC-8wt.% Co cemented carbides with varied nano-Al 2 O 3 and nano-ZrO 2 contents were prepared respectively following conventional powder metallurgical procedures. Effects of nano-Al 2 O 3 and nano-ZrO 2 on the microstructure, behavior, and abrasive wear resistance were investigated. The result shows that a finer and more homogenous microstructure can be achieved by increasing nano-Al 2 O 3 , and increasing nano-ZrO 2 makes the microstructure more refined. Nano-Al 2 O 3 and nano-ZrO 2 could both help to give increased hardness. Transverse rupture strength is higher if the above nano-oxides are doped appropriately, whereas excess addition is deleterious. Abrasive wear resistance presents different variations with respect to increasing nano-Al 2 O 3 and nano-ZrO 2 . By contrast, increasing nano-ZrO 2 enhances the abrasive wear resistance more effectively than increasing nano-Al 2 O 3 . The influence of the two nano-oxides contents on the abrasive wear resistance does not almost vary with wear time, and the optimum addition level of nano-Al 2 O 3 in WC-8% Co cemented carbide is 0.3 wt.% from the stand of abrasive wear resistance. In addition, both of the nano-oxides can retard the increase of wear rate in long-term abrasive wear.

Elastoplastic response of functionally graded cemented carbides due to thermal loading

Finite dement formulations are used to simulate the evolution of the elastoplastic response of functionally graded cemented carbides （FGCC） due to thermal loading. The geometry of specimens is an axisymmetric solid cylinder with a two-dimensional gradient. The elastoplastic constitutive relationship is developed by constraint factors. Numerical results show that compressive stresses occur in the surface zone and tensile stresses in the cobalt rich zone when the temperature drops from the initial stress-free temperature of 800 to 0℃. The maximum value of the surface compressive stress is 254 MPa and the maximum value of the tensile stress is 252 MPa in the cobalt rich zones. When the cobalt concentration difference in the specimens is equal to or greater than 0.3, there is pronounced plastic flow in cobalt rich zone. When the temperature heats up from 0 to 800 ℃, the total plastic strain reaches 0.001 4. Plastic flow has a significant effect on the reduction of thermal stress concentration.

Brazing behavior of ultrafine cemented carbide with stainless steel

In order to investigate the effects of brazing temperature, heating rate and cooling methods on shear strength, hardness, magnetic saturation and coercivity of the ultrafine cemented carbide, the ultrafine cemented carbide was fabricated according to conventional powder metallurgical procedures, and then brazed to the stainless steel with silver-based filler alloy by supersonic frequency induction brazing. The microstructure was observed using scanning electron microscope （SEM）, energy dispersive spectroscopy （EDS） and the magnetic properties were tested utilizing coercimeter and cobalt magnetism instrument. The results show that no micro-crack is found in the cemented carbide after brazing because of silver-based sandwich compound used as filler alloy. In the melted silver layer, there is more carbon in the region adjacent to the cemented carbide. Varied shear strengths, hardnesses, magnetic saturations and coercivities are present under different brazing temperatures, heating rates and coolings. This phenomenon is correlated with some factors such as wettability and fluidity of filler alloy, brazing stress, oxidation of cemented carbide, and allotrope transition of cobalt. Shear strength reaches the maximum of 340 MPa and hardness of ultrafine cemented carbide remains 1879 HV at the brazing temperature of 730℃. The carbon increases with the of increase of the heating rate. What＇s more, and there is no r/phase found under this condition. content decreases with the increase of brazing temperature, and it the lowest magnetic saturation reaches 81.8% of the theoretic value,

Elastic modulus of nanocrystalline cemented carbide

The purposes of this work were to obtain the accurate elastic modulus of the nanocrystalline WC-Co cemented carbides, and to propose the mechanism for the difference of elastic modulus between the nanocrystalline and conventional polycrystalline cemented carbides. The nanocrystalline cemented carbide was prepared by spark plasma sintering（SPS） technique. The conventional polycrystalline cemented carbides were prepared by SPS and sinter-HIP techniques as references, respectively. The sintered cemented carbides were characterized by X-ray diffractometry, scanning electron microscopy and the transmission electron microscopy with precession electron diffraction technology. The elastic modulus was obtained by averaging the values measured with the continuous stiffness measurement method of the nanoindentation technology. The results show that the nanocrystalline cemented carbide has a relatively low modulus, which could be attributed to the more interface area and higher fraction ratio of the hcp cobalt phase caused by the rapid heating and cooling process during SPS.

Surface hardening of Fe-based alloy powders by Nd:YAG laser cladding followed by electrospark deposition with WC-Co cemented carbide

This paper presents the results of a study concerned with the surface hardening of Fe-based alloys and WC-8Co cemented carbide by inte- grating laser cladding and the electrospark deposition processes. Specimens of low carbon steel were processed firstly by laser cladding with Fe-based alloy powders and then by electrospark deposition with WC-SCo cemented carbide. It is shown that, for these two treatments, the electrospark coating possesses finer microstructure than the laser coating, and the thickness and surface hardness of the electrospark coating can be substantially increased.

Properties and microstructure of VC/Cr_3C_2-doped WC/Co cemented carbides

This paper deals with the effects of codoped VC/Cr3C2 and sintering temperature on the magnetic and mechanical properties of ultra-fine grained WC-12%Co alloys. Results show that the synergistic action of doped VC/Cr3C2 in optimal proportion enhances both the hardness and transverse rupture strength （TRS） of the alloys, with more homogeneous microstructtLre. When the alloy is sintered at 1430℃ and with 0.5% Cr3C2/0.2% VC, the TRS reaches 3786 MPa, the hardness is 91.7 HRA and the grain size smaller than 0.6 μm. The numerical analyses on grain growth during the sintering process show that both VC precipitating on the WC grain boundary and Cr3C2 dissolving in the Co phase decrease the solid/liquid interfacial energy γ, the process of dissolution and reprecipitation is greatly retarded and the coarsening of WC grains is inhibited.