Abstract
Abstract The effects of Cr 3 C 2 and VC on densification behavior, grain growth and mechanical properties of the WC-8 wt% ZrO 2 composites were investigated, and the relationship between the mechanical properties and microstructure was studied. The addition of VC and Cr 3 C 2 not only retarded densification of the WC–ZrO 2 material, but also significantly suppressed the growth of WC-grains and ZrO 2 -particles. For the WC–ZrO 2 composite without VC and Cr 3 C 2 , microstructure coarsening at elevated temperatures caused degradation in hardness, whereas the hardness maintained a high value of ~22 GPa for the composite with VC and Cr 3 C 2 additives as the microstructure remained fine. The fracture toughness of the WC-based materials toughened by 8 wt% ZrO 2 seemed insensitive to the coarseness of microstructure, and achieved a value of ~11 MPa m 1/2 when VC and Cr 3 C 2 were added.
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