• Journal of the Korean institute of surface engineering
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.87-107
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• 1993

The grain size of the final products of WC-Co and WC-Ni composite powders is dependent on the size of the starting material and the conditions employed for the reduction and carburization. APT-Co and -Ni com-plex salts were prepared by the substitution reaction between ammonium ions in APT and the metal ions in Co(NO3)2 and Ni(NO3)2 solutions of different concentrations(0.1 to 0.7M) at $50^{\circ}C$ and the grain sizes of the com-plex salts was $0.54~0.76\mu\textrm{m}$. The complex which calcined the complex salts at $700^{\circ}$~80$0^{\circ}C$ for 60min. were 0.2~0.5$\mu\textrm{m}$. W-Co($5.92^{\circ}C$) and -Ni(6.95%) powders which reduced the complex oxides with H2d atmo-sphere(flow rate;600cc/min.) at $700^{\circ}$~$800^{\circ}C$ for 60min. were $0.5~0.6\mu\textrm{m}$. The mean grain sizes of WC-Co and WC-Ni composite powders which carburized both complex metals of W-Co and W-Ni at $800^{\circ}C$ for 60min. were $0.5~0.6\mu\textrm{m}$, and take place the coarsening of the grain above $800^{\circ}C$ and the optmium ratio of C3H8 and H2 was 0.2 for the control of the free carbon. The effect of Co contents on the particle sizes decreased from 0.4 to $0.25\mu\textrm{m}$ with increasing the content from 2.0 to 7.6w%. The activation energies on the reductions of oxides and the formations of carbides were as follows ; W-Co : Q = 8.7 kcal/mole, W-Ni : Q = 8.1 kcal/mole, WC-Co pow-der : Q = 17.8 kcal/mole, WC-Ni powder : Q = 16.6 kcal/mole.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.41 no.10 s.269
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• pp.728-734
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• 2004

The effect of microstructure of WC-Co substrates which have different WC grain sizes from submicron to 5 $\mu$m on the diamond-substrate adhesion strength was investigated. The substrates were pre-treated by two methods : chemical etching with Murakami's solution and subsequently with $H_2SO_4$, and thermal heat-treatment. The adhesion strength was estimated by degree of peeling after Rockwell indentation. Diamond films of 20 $\mu$m thickness deposited on the heat-treated substrates showed an excellent adhesion strength at the load of 100 kg, which ascribed to the large and elongated WC grains. However, the cutting edge of insert was deformed after heat treatment and the surface morphology of heat treated substrate strongly affected on the surface roughness of the deposited diamond films. On the contrary, the diamond film of 10 $\mu$m in thickness on the chemically etched substrates of average WC grain size over 2 $\mu$m showed good adhesion strength enough not to peel-off under a load of 60 kg. Especially, the substrate of average WC grain size over 5 $\mu$m exhibited much improved reliability of adhesion comparing with the substrate of average grain size under 2 $\mu$m. No substrate deformation was observed in this case after the chemical etching, which is more advantageous and more practical in terms of precious machining than the heat treatment case.

• Proceedings of the Korean Powder Metallurgy Institute Conference
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• 2006.09b
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• pp.891-892
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• 2006

To test the correlation between grain shape and growth behavior we prepared WC-TiC-Co samples with rounded (Ti, W)C grains and faceted WC grains. The growth of rounded (Ti, W)C grains was normal. In contrast, the growth of faceted WC grains was abnormal or suppressed depending on the initial size of WC particles. These observations were explained using growth theories of crystals in a liquid and were also confirmed by a simulation using their growth equations. The present results thus demonstrate that the growth behavior of carbide grains in a liquid is governed only by their shape, irrespective of the presence of another phase.

• Proceedings of the Korean Powder Metallurgy Institute Conference
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• 2006.09a
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• pp.362-363
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• 2006

Nano-structured tungsten carbide compacts with cobalt matrices (WC-Co) offer new opportunities for achieving superior hardness and toughness combinations. A unified modeling and simulation tool has been developed to produce maps of sintering pathways from nanocrystalline WC powder to sintered nano-structured WC-Co compacts. This tool includes (1) die compaction, (2) grain growth, (3) densification, (4) sensitivity analysis, and (5) optimization. All material parameters were obtained by curve fitting based on results with two WC-Co powders. Critical processing parameters are determined based on sensitivity analysis and are optimized to minimize grain size with high density.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.242-248
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• 2023

The Ag/WC electrical contacts were prepared via powder metallurgy using 60 wt% Ag, 40 wt% WC, and small amounts of Co₃O₄ with varying WC particle sizes. After the fabrication of the contact materials, microstructure observations confirmed that WC-1 had an average grain size (AGS) of 0.27 ㎛, and WC-2 had an AGS of 0.35 ㎛. The Ag matrix in WC-1 formed fine grains, whereas a significantly larger and continuous growth of the Ag matrix was observed in WC-2. This indicates the different flow behaviors of liquid Ag during the sintering process owing to the different WC sizes. The electrical conductivities of WC-1 and WC-2 were 47.8% and 60.4%, respectively, and had a significant influence on the Ag matrix. In particular, WC-2 exhibited extremely high electrical conductivity owing to its large and continuous Ag-grain matrix. The yield strengths of WC-1 and WC-2 after compression tests were 349.9 MPa and 280.7 MPa, respectively. The high yield strength of WC-1 can be attributed to the Hall-Petch effect, whereas the low yield strength of WC-2 can be explained by the high fraction of high-angle boundaries (HAB) between the WC grains. Furthermore, the relationships between the microstructure, electrical/mechanical properties, and deformation mechanisms were evaluated.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.132-137
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• 2019

Tungsten carbide (WC) hard materials are used in various industries and possess a superior hardness compared to other hard materials. They have particularly high melting points, high strength, and abrasion resistance. Accordingly, tungsten carbide hard materials are used for wear-resistant tools, cutting tools, machining tools, and other tooling materials. In this study, the WC-5wt.%Co, Fe, Ni hard materials are densified using the horizontal ball milled WC-Co, WC-Fe, and WC-Ni powders by a spark plasma sintering process. The WC-5Co, WC-5Fe, and WC-5Ni hard materials are almost completely densified with a relative density of up to 99.6% after simultaneous application of a pressure of 60 MPa and an electric current for about 15 min without any significant change in the grain size. The average grain size of WC-5Co, WC-5Fe, and WC-5Ni that was produced through SPS was about 0.421, 0.779, and $0.429{\mu}m$, respectively. The hardness and fracture toughness of the dense WC-5Co, WC-5Fe, WC-5Ni hard materials were also investigated.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Manufacturing Technology Engineers
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.594-598
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• 2015

The effects of Ni on the mechanical properties of WC-Xwt.%Ni-1.5wt.%Si-1.1wt.%$B_4C$ composite (X = 21.6, 23.6, 25.6 and 27.6 wt.%) were investigated in order to replace Co with Ni as the binder metal for hard materials based on WC-Co system. Using X-ray diffraction, optical microscopy, field-emission scanning electron microscopy results, the microstructure, pore distribution and grain size of the composites sintered at $1,150^{\circ}C$ were examined with different fraction (X = 21.6, 23.6, 25.6 and 27.6 wt.%) of binder metal Ni. The average WC grain size of the $WC-Ni-Si-B_4C$ composites was about $1{\mu}m$. The Rockwell hardness : A (HRA) and transverse rupture strength were about 88HRA and $110kgf/mm^2$, respectively. The obtained sample was bonded with SM45C at a temperature of $1,050^{\circ}C$. The thickness and mechanical properties of the bonded area were investigated with different dwell time at a bonding temperature of $1,050^{\circ}C$.

• Korean Journal of Metals and Materials
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• v.49 no.1
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• pp.40-45
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• 2011

Using the spark plasma sintering process (SPS process), the WC-6wt.%Co hard materials were densified using an ultra fine WC-Co powder. The WC-Co was almost completely dense with a relative density of up to 100% after the simultaneous application of a pressure of 60 MPa and the DC pulse current for 3 min without any significant change in the grain size. The average grain size of WC that was produced through this experiment was about $0.2{\sim}0.8{\mu}m$. The hardness and fracture toughness were about $1816kg/mm^2$ and $15.1MPa{\cdot}m^{1/2}$, respectively, for 60 MPa at $1200^{\circ}C$.

• Resources Recycling
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.19-25
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• 2022

In this study, tungsten carbide (WC) powder was prepared using a novel recycling process for hard metal sludge that does not use ammonium paratungstate. Instead of ammonia, acid was used to remove the sodium and crystallized tungstate, resulting in the formation of tungstic acid (H₂WO₄). The WC powder was successfully synthesized by the carbothermal reduction of tungstic acid through H₂O decomposition, reduction of WO₃ to W, and formation of WC. The carbon content and holding time at the carbothermal reduction temperature were optimized to remove free carbon from the WC powder. As a result, most of the free carbon in the WC powder prepared from sludge was removed, and the content of free carbon in the synthesized WC powder was lower than that in commercial WC powder. Moreover, the crystallite size of WC prepared from H₂WO₄ was much smaller than that of commercial micron-sized WC powder produced from APT. The small crystallite size of WC induces grain growth during the sintering of the WC-Co composite; thus, a WC-Co composite with large WC grains was fabricated using the WC powder prepared from H₂WO₄. The large WC grains affected the mechanical properties of the WC-Co composite. Further, due to the large grain size, the WC-Co composite fabricated from H₂WO₄ exhibited a higher toughness than that of the WC-Co composite prepared from commercial WC powder.

• Journal of Welding and Joining
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• v.30 no.6
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• pp.92-97
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• 2012

Using the pulsed current activated sintering method, the WC-10wt.% Co materials were densified using a WC and Co powder. The WC-Co almost completely dense with a relative density of up to 99.5 % after the simultaneous application of a pressure of 60 MPa and an electric current for 3 minutes almost without any significant change in the grain size. The average grain size of about $0.3{\mu}m$. The hardness and fracture toughness at $1000^{\circ}C$ were about $2200kg/mm^2$ and $9.8MPa.m^{1/2}$, respectively.