Direct Carburization of Tungsten Trioxide by Mechanical Alloying

Abstract:

Tungsten carbide is the choice of predilection for producing parts requiring good wear resistance. In this context it is produced in large quantities by the carburization of tungsten trioxide under a stream of hydrogen at elevated temperature followed by grinding to achieve the required fineness. This work aims to study the conditions in which tungsten carbide can be produced by mechanical alloying method. Using this method would facilitate obtaining carbide through a simple and easy to use technology without prohibitive costs, directly by an end user. For this purpose the thermodynamic study is conducted to establish the conditions under which the carburizing reaction can take place. The condition for the reaction to occur spontaneously is reaching a temperature of 621°C. Carrying out this reaction in a system without external energy input seems impossible. Mechanical alloying experiments were carried out in a Fritch Pulverisette 7 premium line planetary mill, equipped with two bowls of 80ml capacity lined with sintered tungsten carbide. Each bowl contained 200 g of tungsten carbide balls with dimensions of 10 mm and 12 mm. The balls/load ratio was 10:1. Grinding was performed in steps of 3 hours, with breaks for sampling, with rotation speeds of 600 and 800 rpm. Tests conducted showed complete conversion of raw materials into tungsten carbide after different durations of time.

• Periodical: Advanced Materials Research (Volume 1128)
• Pages: 51-57
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMR.1128.51
• Online since: October 2015
• Authors: Victor Ioan Stanciu*, Véronique Vitry, Fabienne Delaunois
• Keywords: Carburization, Mechanical Alloying, Powder metallurgy, Tungsten Carbide, Tungsten Trioxide

References

[1] G. E. Spriggs, History of Fine Grained Hardmetal, Int. J. of Refactory Metals & Hard Materials 13 (1995) 241-255.

DOI: 10.1016/0263-4368(95)92671-6

[2] B. Zeiler, The potential of conventional tungsten carbide powder manufacturing, Plansee Proceedings 4 (1997) 265-276.

[3] Y. Yamamoto, A. Matsumoto, Y. Doi, Properties of ultrafine tungsten carbide and cemented carbides by direct carburization, Plansee Proceedings 2 (1997) 596-608.

[4] R. Koc, S. K. Kodambaka, Tungsten carbide (WC) synthesis from novel precursors, J. of the European Ceramic Society 20 (2000) 1859-1869.

DOI: 10.1016/s0955-2219(00)00038-8

[5] K. M Andersson, Aqueous Processing of WC-Co Powders, Royal Institute of Technology Doctoral Thesis Stockholm (2004).

[6] Z.Y. Zhang, S. Wahlberg, M.S. Wang, M. Muhammed, Processing of nanostructured WC–Co powder from precursor obtained by coprecipitation. Nanostruct Mater 12 (1999) 163-166.

DOI: 10.1016/s0965-9773(99)00089-6

[7] G. Lee, G.H. Ha, B.K. Kim, Synthesis of nanostructure W base composite powders by chemical processes. J Korean Inst Metal Mater 37 (1999) 1233-1237.

[8] P. Seegopaul, L.E. McCandlish, F.M. Shinneman, Production capability and powder processing methods for nanostructured WC-Co powder, Int. J. of Refractory Metals and Hard Materials 15 (1997) 133-138.

DOI: 10.1016/s0263-4368(96)00044-3

[9] ASM Handbook, Powder Metallurgy 8th edition, Ohio, (1991).

[10] C. Suryanarayana, Mechanical alloying and milling, Progress in Materials Science 46 (2001) 1-184.

[11] S. Mi, T. H Courtney, Synthesis of WC and WC-Co cermets by mechanical alloying and subsequent hot isostatic pressing, Scripta Materialia 38 (1997) 171-176.

DOI: 10.1016/s1359-6462(97)00410-7

[12] M.S. El-Eskandarany, A. Mahday, H. A Ahmed, Synthesis and characterizations of ball-milled nanocrystalline WC and nanocomposite WC–Co powders and subsequent consolidations, Amer. J. of Alloys and Compounds 312 (2000) 315-325.

DOI: 10.1016/s0925-8388(00)01155-5

[13] S. Liu, L. Huang, G. Liu, G.B. Yang, Preparing nano-crystalline rare earth doped WC/Co powder by high energy ball milling, Int. J. of Refractory Metals and Hard Materials 24 (2006) 461-464.

DOI: 10.1016/j.ijrmhm.2005.10.001

[14] S. Bolokang, C. Banganayi, M. Phasha, Effect of C and milling parameters on the synthesis of WC powders by mechanical alloying, Int. J. of Refractory Metals and Hard Materials 28 (2010) 211-216.

DOI: 10.1016/j.ijrmhm.2009.09.006

[15] M.H. Enayati, G.R. Aryanpour, A. Ebnonnasir, Production of nanostructured WC–Co powder by ball milling, Int. J. of Refractory Metals and Hard Materials 27 (2009) 159-163.

DOI: 10.1016/j.ijrmhm.2008.06.005

[16] F.L. Zang, M. Zhu, C.Y. Wang, Parameters optimization in the planetary ball milling of nanostructured tungsten carbide/cobalt powder, International Journal of Refractory Metals and Hard Materials 26 (2008) 329-333.

DOI: 10.1016/j.ijrmhm.2007.08.005

[17] Q. Yuan, Y. Zheng, H. Yu, Synthesis of nanocrystalline Ti(C, N) powders by mechanical alloying and influence of alloying elements on the reaction, Int. J. of Refractory Metals and Hard Materials 27 (2009) 121-125.

DOI: 10.1016/j.ijrmhm.2008.05.002

[18] R. Mansour, M. R. Rahimipour, R. Yazdani-Rad, A novel technique for production of nano-crystalline mono tungsten carbide single phase via mechanical alloying, J. of Alloys and Compounds 509 (2011) 6683-6688.

DOI: 10.1016/j.jallcom.2011.03.137

[19] J. Ma, S.G. Zhu, Direct solid-state synthesis of tungsten carbide nanoparticles from mechanically activated tungsten oxide and graphite. Int. Journal of Refractory Metals and Hard Materials 28 (2010) 623–627.

DOI: 10.1016/j.ijrmhm.2010.06.004