Effects of Processing Parameters on the Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Nanoscaled WC-10Co Cemented Carbide

This work was mainly focused on the processing-parameter-related microstructure and properties of ultrafine WC-10Co-0.4VC-0.5Cr₃C₂ cemented carbide. The samples were prepared via a spark plasma sintering (SPS) technique using nano WC and Co powders and the corresponding inhibitor VC and Cr₃C₂ powders. The influence of the processing process on the microstructure and mechanical properties of ultrafine-grained cemented carbide was investigated under different ball-milling times and sintering temperatures. The results showed that the grain size of WC decreased with increasing ball-milling time and decreasing sintering temperature and that the specific gravity of ε-Co increased with increasing ball-milling time. The hardness of cemented carbide increased with increasing ball-milling time and decreased with increasing sintering temperature due to the corresponding variation in grain size and the relative density of samples. The transverse fracture strength (TRS) was mainly affected by ball-milling time. The increase in ball-milling time led to decreased TRS values, mainly ascribed to the formation of WC particle agglomeration and the decreased WC-Co eutectic temperature. In addition, temperature changes were found to have little effect on TRS. The samples sintered at 1250 °C with a ball-milling time of 60 h had comprehensive mechanical properties. Their average grain size, relative density, hardness, and TRS were 355.5 nm, 95.79%, 2035.5 kg/mm², and 2155.99 MPa, respectively.