Title: Effect of SiC addition on mechanical and wear characteristics of WC-32(W-Ti)C-6Co cemented carbides

Authors: M.T. Albdiry; B.F. Yousif

Addresses: Faculty of Health, Engineering and Science, Centre of Excellence in Engineered Fibre Composites (CEEFC), University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba 4350, QLD, Australia ' Faculty of Health, Engineering and Science, Centre of Excellence in Engineered Fibre Composites (CEEFC), University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba 4350, QLD, Australia

Abstract: The effect of silicon carbide (SiC) addition on mechanical and wear properties of cemented carbides was investigated in this study. Different percentages (1-7 wt. %) of SiC were added to the cemented carbides mixture of WC/32 wt. % (Ti-W) C/6 wt. % Co. The microstructural characteristics of the developed materials was identified using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Rockwell-A macrohardness (HRA), Vickers microhardness (Hv) as well as transverse rupture strength (TRS) were measured. The experimental results revealed that inserting SiC inclusion into the cemented carbides is found to be useless for two reasons. First, the microstructure of the developed carbides has more aggregations of largely contiguous SiC grains led to presence of rich/poor regions and consequently poor compatibility between carbides and the binder. Second, all properties of the cemented carbides greatly declined with the addition of SiC particles.

Keywords: microstructure; SiC inserts; silicon carbide; mechanical properties; wear resistance; cemented carbides; Rockwell-A macrohardness; Vickers microhardness; transverse rupture strength; TRS.

DOI: 10.1504/IJPTECH.2014.060611

International Journal of Precision Technology, 2014 Vol.4 No.1/2, pp.110 - 121

Published online: 30 Apr 2015 *

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