Abstract
The interrelationships between the dispersion of the secondary ZrO 2 phase and the material properties of WC-based composites with up to 10 vol% of ZrO 2 are investigated. The homogeneity of the ultrafine WC–nanometric ZrO 2 powder mixtures was optimized by means of multidirectional milling and bead milling. In an alternative route, zirconium butoxide was used as a ZrO 2 source. The composites were fully densified by means of pulsed electric current sintering (PECS), also known as spark plasma sintering, within a few minutes at 1700 °C allowing to maintain an ultrafine grained microstructure combining a hardness of 2600 kg/mm 2 with an indentation toughness of 6 MPa m 1/2. The ZrO 2 content and Y 2O 3 stabilization were found to strongly influence the mechanical properties and especially strength of the WC–ZrO 2 composites.
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