abstract
Tungsten carbide (WC) based composites are highly wear resistant, exceptionally durable and used in numerous cases as a variety of machining tools, punch and dies and drill bits. These materials are generally obtained by sintering a tungsten carbide powder and a metal binder, being cobalt the most common binder. The binder fraction and the carbide grain size of powders determine the mechanical resistance of the final product and, consequently, its tribological behaviour. However, in order to impart higher wear and corrosion resistance to the product, other binders may be used. In the present research work, several composites with different binder compositions were prepared, resulting in seven different specimens: WC-Co, WC-Ni, WC-CoNi, WC-CoCr, WCNiCr, WC-CoNiCr and WC-NiCrMo. The mechanical properties of the different composites were evaluated and correlated with the microstructure and tribological behaviour. Concerning the abrasion characterization, from each test, the wear volume was assessed and the details of the wear surfaces were analyzed by Optical Microscopy, Scanning Electron Microscopy and profilometry. It was found that the presence of chromium in the binder increased the abrasion resistance, comparing to the other composites under study.
keywords
CEMENTED CARBIDES; MECHANICAL-PROPERTIES; WC/CO; HARDMETALS; MICROSTRUCTURE; DEFORMATION; PERFORMANCE; TOUGHNESS; PRESSURE; BEHAVIOR
subject category
Engineering, Mechanical; Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
authors
Pereira, P; Vilhena, LM; Sacramento, J; Senos, AMR; Malheiros, LF; Ramalho, A
our authors
Ana Maria de Oliveira e Rocha Senos
CollaboratorProjects
CICECO - Aveiro Institute of Materials (UIDB/50011/2020)
CICECO - Aveiro Institute of Materials (UIDP/50011/2020)
Collaboratory for Emerging Technologies, CoLab (EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES)
acknowledgements
P. Pereira acknowledges FCT for financial support (SFRH/BD/138040/2018). This work was developed within the scope of the project CICECO-Aveiro Institute of Materials, UIDB/50011/2020 & UIDP/50011/2020, financed by national funds through the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology/MCTES. This work was developed within the scope of the project HARDTECH-POCI-01-0247-FEDER-045283, financed by FEDER under PT2020 Partnership Agreement.; This research is sponsored by FEDER funds through the program COMPETE - Programa Operacional Factores de Competitividade - and by national funds through FCT - Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia -, under the project UIDB/00285/2020.