Influences of Carbon Content on the Properties and Microstructure of Ultrafine WC-10Co Cemented Carbide

Influences of Carbon Content on the Properties and Microstructure of Ultrafine WC-10Co Cemented Carbide

WC-10Co nanocrystalline composite powders prepared by spray pyrogenation-continuous reduction and carburization technology were consolidated by vacuum sintering plus hot isostatic pressing (HIP). Influences of carbon content on properties and microstructure of ultrafine WC-10Co cemented carbide were investigated. The results show that the relative density of the ultrafine WC-10Co cemented carbides can reach 99.72%, and the transverse rupture strength (TRS) was higher than 3 890 MPa, Rockwell A hardness (HRA) was higher than 92.5, the average grain size was less than 460 nm, when carbon content in nanocrystalline composite powder was 5.54wt% and the ball-milled time was 48 hours, ultrafine WC-10Co cemented carbide with excellent properties and homogeneous microstructure was obtained. Funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No.50502026), the Youth Science Plan for Light of the Morning Sun of Wuhan City(No.200750731270), and Key Project for the Science & Technology Research Department, Chinese Ministry of Education (No.105123)