Abstract
In this work, an orthogonal array design (OAD), OA16, was utilized to study the parameters statistically for the fabrication of WC preforms. The effects of prominent parameters of gel-casting i.e., gelation agent (sodium alginate to calcium phosphate ratio), size of initial WC powder, WC powder loading and also two other parameters such as pre-sintering temperature and time on the relative density, porosity and flexural strength of the WC preforms were examined. The effects of these factors on WC preforms were investigated by the analysis of variance (ANOVA). The results of ANOVA showed that the size of initial WC powder as the most significant parameter affecting the porosity and flexural strength. Flexural strength of 33 MPa and porosity of 51% were achieved for the WC preform with 25 vol.% WC, size of initial powder of 0.9 [Formula: see text]m, pre-sintering temperature of [Formula: see text]C and pre-sintering time of 4 h. XRD results and SEM micrographs of the optimized WC preforms and the resulted W–ZrC composite showed a uniform porous microstructure and uniform distribution of phases (W and ZrC), respectively.
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