Effect of Metal Elements on Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Ultrafine Cemented Carbide Prepared by SPS

To satisfy the needs of precision machining, ultrafine tungsten carbide (WC)-based cemented carbide with fine grain size and excellent mechanical properties was prepared. Ultrafine cemented carbide was prepared by spark plasma sintering (SPS) using WC, Co as raw materials and metal elements V, and Cr as additives, and the effects of metal elements on the microstructure and mechanical properties of cemented carbide were investigated. The results show that the specimen (91.6WC-1.2V-1.2Cr-6Co) prepared at 1350 °C, 6 min, 25 MPa has the best mechanical properties (H 2322.9, K 8.7 MPa·m^1/2) and homogeneous microstructure. The metal elements could react with WC to form a (W, V, Cr) Cx segregation layer, which effectively inhibits the growth of WC grains (300 nm). The combination of SPS and metal element additives provides a new approach for the preparation of ultrafine cemented carbides with excellent properties.