Spark Plasma Sintered WC-Ni Cemented Carbides with Various Contents of ZrC Nano-Powder

Abstract:

WC-10Ni cemented carbides with various contents (0-9 wt.%) of ZrC nanopowder were fabricated by spark plasma sintering at 1350 °C with a pressure of 50 MPa. The phase composition, microstructure and mechanical properties of the as-prepared samples were investigated. X-ray diffraction analysis revealed that excepting WC hard phase, a solid solution phase Ni (W,Zr) with different amounts of individual metal was formed with increasing ZrC nanopowder content. Scanning electron microscopy examination indicated that a proper addition content of ZrC can suppress the abnormal growth of WC grains and improve the relative density of WC-Ni cemented carbides. However, with further increase in the content of ZrC (more than 7 wt.%), the agglomeration of ZrC became more and more serious. The samples with 5 wt.% ZrC nanopowder possess a relative higher flexural strength (~1750 MPa) among all the investigated samples. When the addition content of ZrC nanopowder was 3 wt.%, the Vickers hardness of the samples reached its maximum value (~1810 HV₁₀).

• Periodical: Key Engineering Materials (Volume 591)
• Pages: 75-78
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/KEM.591.75
• Online since: November 2013
• Authors: Xiao Yong Ren, Zhi Jian Peng, Ying Peng, Cheng Biao Wang, Zhi Qiang Fu, Long Hao Qi, He Zhuo Miao
• Keywords: Mechanical Property, Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS), WC-Ni, ZrC Nanopowder

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