Spark Plasma Sintering of WC-Based 10wt%Co Hard Alloy: A Study of Sintering Kinetics and Solid-Phase Processes
A.A. Buravleva, A. N. Fedorets, A.A. Vornovskikh, Alexey V. Ognev, V.A. Nepomnyushchaya, Vladimir N. Sakhnevich, А. О. Лембиков, Z. E. Kornakova, O. V. Kapustina, Anna Tarabanova, Victor P. Reva, I. Yu. Buravlev
Abstract
The paper describes the method for producing WC-10wt%Co hard alloy with 99.6% of the theoretical density and a Vickers hardness of ~1400 HV 0.5. Experimental data on densification dynamics, phase composition, morphology, mechanical properties, and grain size distribution of WC-10%wtCo using spark plasma sintering (SPS) within the range of 1000-1200 °C are presented. The high quality of the product is provided by the advanced method of high-speed powder mixture SPS-consolidation at achieving a high degree of densification with minimal calculated grain growth at 1200 °C.