Rev.Adv.Mater.Sci. (RAMS)
No 2, Vol. 27, 2011, pages 165-172

MICROSTRUCTURE OF NANOCRYSTALLINE WC
POWDERS AND WC-Co HARD ALLOYS

A.S. Kurlov, A. Leenaers, S. van den Berghe, M. Scibetta, H. Schörttner and A.A. Rempel

Abstract

A set of WC-Co hard alloys was sintered from WC powders with different mean particle sizes. WC powders with particles having different mean size were prepared by high-energy ball milling and by plasma-chemical synthesis. The microstructure and mean grain size of sintered WC-Co hard alloy specimens were studied by means of SEM and XRD. Vickers hardness and microhardness of sintered WC-Co hard alloys were measured. The mechanical strength of rods prepared from different WC-Co hard alloys was examined by bending tests. After the bending tests, the fracture surfaces of all specimens were studied by SEM.

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