Defects in the carbide phase of deformed WC-Co composites were analysed using transmission electron microscopy. Dissociated dislocations with a Burgers vector of 1/3<1¯2•3> were analysed and shown to consist of pairs of identical partial dislocations having a Burgers vector of 1/6<1¯2•3>. These created and destroyed stacking faults on {10•0} planes via a glide process. The stacking fault energy was estimated, from the separation of the 1/6<1¯2•3> partials, to be between 50 and 100mJ/m2.

The Defect Structure of Tungsten Carbide in Deformed Tungsten Carbide-Cobalt Composites. R.M.Greenwood, M.H.Loretto, R.E.Smallman: Acta Metallurgica, 1982, 30[6], 1193-6