Carbide Size Research Articles

Evolution of carbides and Charpy toughness in a low alloy bainitic steel during step-up aging process

The low alloy bainitic steel used in reactor pressure vessels deteriorates during thermal service while the macroscopic thermodynamic parameters that cause thermal aging remains unknown. In this work, a thermal aging restructuring scheme was proposed by step-up aging the steel from 350 °C to 490 °C, with a total duration of 7500 hours. Samples from varied thickness of the steel were characterized in terms of carbides evolution and Charpy impact toughness at 20 °C. The carbide size and its fraction were statistically analyzed showing partial coarsening and dissolution during aging, while the carbide fraction was found linearly correlated with the impact energy for the first time. The critical transition temperature parameter of the aging process was found to be 470 °C for the steel. The macroscopic thermodynamic parameters, including the thermal aging time and temperature, facilitate a comprehensive understanding of the material degradation mechanism and provide a basis for long-term safety of equipment.

Effect of Heat Treatment on Microstructure and Properties of Powder Metallurgy High-Speed Steel Prepared by Hot Isostatic Pressing

The microstructure and properties of powder metallurgy high-speed steel prepared by hot isostatic pressing with different heat treatments have been studied. The microstructure, phase composition, effect of quenching and tempering parameters, fracture morphology, and mechanical properties of the sample are discussed in detail. The H-HSS sample presents the characteristics of the powder prior to the particle boundary and consists of carbide and ferrite, in which the carbides are fine and evenly dispersed without segregation. The bending strength and hardness of the H-HSS sample are 3112 MPa and 56.3 HRC, respectively. The Q-HSS sample is mainly composed of martensite, residual austenite, and carbides. With the increase in quenching temperature, the grain size of the matrix gradually grows, and the small carbide particles dissolve into the matrix, causing an increase in carbide size and a decrease in quantity. The bending strength and hardness of the Q-HSS sample quenched at 1210 °C achieve the maximum values of 3114 MPa and 68.8 HRC, respectively. After tempering, the martensite is transformed from a quenched lath shape to a needle shape, the residual austenite content decreases, and secondary carbides precipitate from the matrix, resulting in a secondary hardening. The T-HSS sample that is quenched at 1120 °C followed by tempering at 550 °C for 20 min has the best bending strength of 4355 MPa. However, the T-HSS sample that is quenched at 1240 °C followed by tempering at 550 °C for 120 min has a maximum hardness value of 69.5 HRC. The fracture mode of Q-HSS sample is brittle fracture, and the fracture mechanism is cleavage fracture. After tempering, the fracture mechanism of the T-HSS sample presents a transitional fracture mode between the cleavage fracture and micropore aggregation fracture.

Effect of magnesium on primary carbides in GCr15 bearing steel

GCr15 bearing steel has higher carbon and chromium content, large-size primary carbides tend to be easily precipitated during the solidification, which is harmful for the performance of steel. Hence, magnesium treatment was applied to refine primary carbides and the influence of magnesium on the size, distribution and morphology of primary carbides in GCr15 bearing steel was studied in this paper. The results indicated that M3C, M3C2, and M7C3 were precipitated during the solidification of GCr15 bearing steel. When magnesium was added into the steel, the area ratio and maximum size of primary carbide were decreased with the increase of magnesium content. The refinement of primary carbides was the most obvious when the magnesium content was 27 ppm. Compared with the steel without magnesium, the area ratio and maximum size of primary carbides were reduced by 2.41 % and 11.16μm respectively. In addition, for the steel without magnesium, MnS were likely to be attached with primary carbides. Once magnesium was added, smaller and two-layer structured composite inclusions (the inner layer was Mg-Al-O, and the outer layer was MnS) were formed and provided the preferred nucleation site for primary carbides, which ultimately promoted the refinement of primary carbides.

Effect of HIP on Creep Properties in the Single Crystal Superalloy

The Rene N5 is a second-generation single crystal superalloy containing 3wt% Re, commonly used in gas turbine blades for power generation at temperatures up to 1600°C due to its excellent creep life. Generally, single crystal (SX) and directionally solidified (DS) blades are not applied to hot isostatic pressing (HIP) because their porosities are lower than conventionally cast (CC) blades, and it causes recrystallization issue. However, in this study, HIP was chosen as a candidate to improve the mechanical properties of the second-generation single crystal superalloy Rene N5. HIP followed by ultra-rapid cooling rate of 660K/minute was applied in an attempt to address this issue. This approach was expected to enhance creep rupture properties through pore reduction and microstructural homogenization. Furthermore, by setting the HIP temperature and time identical to the solution treatment condition, the possibility of replacing solution treatment with HIP was discussed. As results of creep rupture tests, the rupture life was excellent in the order of specimens treated with HIP + solution + aging, solution + aging, and HIP + aging treatments. It is interesting that this is found to be primarily influenced by the size and shape of carbides and γ’ phases, with the effects of crystallographic orientation, shrinkage porosity, and eutectic phase being negligible.

Effect of cooling temperature on microstructure and mechanical properties of Nb microalloyed hot-rolled rebar

In this study, the Gleeble-3800 thermal simulation tester was used to simulate various cooling temperature processes for two groups of rebar. Then, the microstructure, precipitation, and mechanical properties of the rebars were characterized using SEM (scanning electron microscopy), EBSD (electron backscatter diffraction), HRTEM (high resolution transmission electron microscopy), and MST810 (universal tensile testing machine). The effect of cooling temperature on the microstructure and mechanical properties was systematically investigated. The results showed that reducing the cooling temperature from 750 °C to 600 °C decreased the ferrite grain size in 0.032 wt % Nb rebar to 7.03 ± 1.5 μm, compared to the 0 wt% Nb rebar. In addition, the pearlite lamellar spacing was refined to 0.103 ± 0.5 μm, and the average particle size of elliptical Nb-rich composite carbides was 9 nm. The tensile strength and yield strength reached 795 ± 9 MPa and 638 ± 8 MPa, respectively, with an elongation after fracture of 17.78 ± 1.0 %. The fracture surface exhibited a dimple morphology.

Effect of hot isostatic pressing on the microstructure and mechanical properties of Udimet 720Li alloy formed by laser melting deposition

In this paper, the effect of hot isostatic pressing (HIP) treatment on defects, microstructure, precipitated phases and mechanical properties of Udimet 720Li alloy formed by laser melting deposition (LMD) was investigated. The results showed that the internal microcracks of Udimet 720Li alloy formed by LMD were completely eliminated after HIP treatment, but a few small pores still existed, and the density of the sample were improved from 97.06 % to 99.97 %. Partial recrystallisation occurred in the as-deposited sample. After HIP treatment almost complete recrystallisation occurred, and the grain morphology changed from epitaxially grown columnar grains to equiaxed grains with a decreasement in grain size. After HIP treatment, the MC carbides in the sample were changed from granular to large-sized lumps. For the sample with hot isostatic pressing and heat treatment (HIP + HT), a large number of carbides dissolution, the carbides morphology became granular diffusely distributed in the grain. Meanwhile, the HIP treatment eliminated the γ/γ′ eutectic phases present due to solute segregation, and a large number of secondary γ′ phases were uniformly precipitated within the grain. After the HIP + HT treatment, the average size of the secondary γ′ phase decreased from 283.4 nm to 266.3 nm, and the quantity was significantly enhanced. The HIP treatment reduced the mechanical properties of Udimet 720Li alloy, the microhardness decreased from 480 HV to 404 HV and the tensile strength decreased from 1258 MPa to 1234 MPa, which was mainly related to the decrease in the number of γ′ phases and the increase in the size of carbides. After HIP + HT treatment, the room temperature tensile properties of the samples were enhanced (σUTS = 1394 MPa, σYS = 702 MPa, εf = 18.33 %), which was mainly attributed to the precipitation of more small-sized secondary γ′ phases by heat treatment.

The dual effects of phosphorus on the hot deformation behavior in an as-cast Ni-Fe-Cr based alloy

The effect of phosphorus on dynamic recrystallization (DRX) and hot deformation behavior of an as-cast Ni-Fe-Cr based was investigated by performing hot compression deformation. The results indicate that phosphorus can play dual roles during hot deformation. The phosphorus dissolving in matrix and segregating to the dislocation can hinder the dislocation motion and DRX nucleation, which acts as the solute drag effect. And phosphorus-addition can increase the size and number of MC carbides. MC carbides increase the local dislocation density around them and promote the DRX nucleation and exhibit the particle stimulated nucleation effect. Influenced by the dual effects of phosphorus, the DRX fraction and grain size decrease first and then increase with the increase of phosphorus content. The solute drag effect of the substitutional phosphorus atoms on dislocation motion decreases the DRX nucleation rate and increase the possibility of instability at low deformation temperature in phosphorus-addition alloys. In the early stage of deformation, more MC carbides in the high-phosphorus alloy hinder the motion of dislocation and result in the stress concentration, which leads to the intergranular cracks at high temperature and high strain rate.

Study on interface characteristics of WC-Co doped Y rare earth element cemented carbide cutting tool and its influence on material properties

The influence of doping rare earth element Y on the material properties at the W and C interfaces of WC (0001)/Co (111) was studied using first principles calculations, taking into account adhesion work, interface energy, density of states, and Mulliken population. The grain size of WC-Co cemented carbide doped with rare earth element Y was analyzed before and after doping through cellular automata simulation. The microscopic morphology of the cemented carbide materials before and after doping with Y element was observed and analyzed by experiments, and their mechanical properties were tested. The research results have shown that the interface structure doped with Y has smaller interface energy, greater adhesion work, and stronger interface bonding ability. All four interface models exhibit metallic properties, and the addition of Y element enhancing the metallicity of WC-Co. The W-d and Y-p orbitals undergo orbital hybridization and generate covalent bonds, improving the durability and bonding strength of the material. The bond length of C-W at the interface after doping is smaller than that before doping, and the population is greater than that before doping, indicating an enhanced stability of the interface. After the addition of rare earth element Y, the crystals underwent through-crystal fracture, and the fracture showed irregular shapes, which improved the bonding strength of the interface. Through the cellular automata simulation, it was found that the grain size after doping with Y element was significantly smaller than that before doping, and it was experimentally verified that the doping of rare earth element Y played the role of grain refinement. At the same time, it could reduce the coefficient of friction of the material, and improve the overall performance of the cemented carbide material.

Unraveling the plastic deformation, recrystallization, and oxidation behavior of Waspaloy during thermal fatigue crack propagation

Thermal fatigue is one typical failure mode for engine components involving cyclic thermal stresses/strains. However, the microstructure evolution and its microscopic interaction with thermal fatigue cracking in Ni-based superalloys featuring intragranular γ′ and intergranular carbides have yet to be clarified. In this study, cyclic temperature variations ranging from 25 °C to 700 °C were conducted on Waspaloy to unravel the synergistic damage mechanisms including stress distribution, plastic deformation, recrystallization, oxidation, and crack propagation. The thermal fatigue cracks are found to predominantly propagate along grain boundaries with a gradually descending rate from 3.5 μm/cycle to 1.5 μm/cycle. Compared with the macroscopic thermal stress up to ∼800 MPa, the local thermal stress induced by different sizes of M23C6 carbides marginally affects the crack propagation. Intensive slip bands and sparse deformation twins in the deformed matrix are observed, indicating the plastic deformation is mainly achieved by dislocation slipping and supplemented by twinning. Trans-granular cracks parallel to {111} planes form occasionally when the propagation directions of intergranular cracks are almost parallel to the {111} slip bands. Besides, dislocations promote the oxidation damage of the crack surface through pipe diffusion of solutes, and the γ′-precipitate free zones (PFZs) and recrystallized areas are produced accordingly. The quantitation analysis of the PFZ thickness provides a reference for predicting crack initiation time during thermal fatigue.

Effect of tempering process on the mechanical properties and corrosion resistance of E690 marine steel

Abstract This study investigated the effect of the tempering process on the microstructure, mechanical properties, and corrosion resistance of E690 marine steel, aiming to replicate actual production conditions and reduce costs. Various techniques, including metallurgical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, electron backscatter diffraction, impact experiments, tensile tests, and electrochemical corrosion tests, were employed to evaluate the material’s properties and performance. The results indicated that as the tempering temperature increased, the tempering degree in the tempered martensite structure improved, martensite strips coarsened, the size of precipitated carbides increased, and the proportion of large-angle grain boundaries decreased. Consequently, the tensile and yield strengths initially increased and then decreased, while the impact toughness and elongation gradually improved. At a tempering temperature of 600 °C, the steel exhibited the best overall mechanical properties, with a tensile strength of 729 MPa, a yield strength of 649 MPa, and an elongation of 18%. Furthermore, at a tempering temperature of 550 °C, the test steel showed optimal corrosion resistance, with a corrosion rate of 0.03233 mm/y and an open-circuit potential of -0.36 V.

The effect of tempering temperature on microstructure and corrosion resistance of M390 powder metallurgical martensitic stainless steel

The corrosion resistance of M390 powder metallurgical martensitic stainless steel with different tempering temperatures was investigated by potentiodynamic polarization measurements, salt spray tests, and microstructural analyses utilizing scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The tempering temperature had no significant effect on the size and volume fraction of carbides. The corrosion resistance of M390 steel gradually deteriorated with increasing tempering temperature, and a loss passivation (LOP) effect was observed when tempered at 450 °C, 500 °C, and 550 °C. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis showed that the width of the Cr-depleted zones around the undissolved M7C3 carbides increased with increasing tempering temperature, while the Cr content in these zones decreased, which was the main reason for the deterioration of corrosion resistance. This study offers valuable insights into optimizing the tempering process to improve the corrosion resistance of M390 steel for practical applications.

Combination effects of laser heating and water cooling on the repair performance of Hastelloy C-276 by underwater laser direct metal deposition

The Ni-based Hastelloy C-276 was repaired by in-air and underwater laser direct metal deposition (in-air DMD and UDMD) with four gradient cooling rates (in-air DMD, in-air DMD with interlayer cooling, UDMD and UDMD with each layer re-covered by water). The microstructure and mechanical properties of repaired samples were systematically characterized with respect to the cooling rates. All samples presented good metallurgical bonding and columnar dendrites with epitaxial growth. The underwater environment had a more pronounced acceleration effect on the cooling rate compared to interlayer cooling. The rapid cooling induced intense thermal cycling, resulting in increased dislocation density and grain refinement with primary dendrite arm spacing (PDAS) diminishing from 5.30 to 3.21 μm. Accelerated cooling rate contributed to precipitation of massive M6C carbides. Carbides coarsened (sizes from 257 to 354 nm) and exhibited a reduced content as cooling rate slowed down due to intrinsic heat treatment (IHT). The residual water film in UDMD repair promoted oxide formation. Samples with increased cooling rates exhibited superior mechanical performance. The improved microhardness, tensile and impact properties were primarily attributed to the enhanced fine grain strengthening and Orowan strengthening facilitated via reduced grain size, increased dislocation density and carbide content. Quantities of large-size carbides were detrimental to tensile and impact properties as displayed in the in-air DMD sample with interlayer cooling (carbide size of 341 μm). The study could serve as a reference for in-situ restoration in deep-water environments.

Pulsed Magnetic Field Treatment Effects on Undissolved Carbides in Continuous Casting Billets of GCr15 Bearing Steel

The study investigates the effect of pulsed magnetic fields on undissolved carbides in high-carbon chromium bearing steel GCr15 billets. The billets were subjected to heat treatment at 950 °C, with a pulsed magnetic field of varying durations applied during the process. The influence of the pulsed magnetic field on the distribution of undissolved carbides within the billets was investigated, and the thermodynamic and kinetic mechanisms of undissolved carbides dissolution were explored. The results indicate that the area percentage of undissolved carbides in the microstructure decreases from 1.68% to 0.06% after applying a pulsed magnetic field for 10 min, and the size of undissolved carbides decreases from 17.5 μm to 4.9 μm. When a pulsed magnetic field is applied for 30 min, all undissolved carbides dissolve. The statistics demonstrate that the average size of undissolved carbides is reduced from 14.19 μm to 0.63 μm, with a reduction percentage reaching 96%. Over the same duration, the number density of the undissolved carbides decreases from (0.19~0.55)/mm2 to (0.03~0.1)/mm2, and the percentage area of the undissolved carbides decreases from (1.26~1.68)% to (0~0.02)%. Thermodynamically, applying a pulsed magnetic field lowers the dissolution energy barrier of undissolved carbides and modifies their transformation temperature. Kinetically, the rate of alloy element diffusion is enhanced by increasing the frequency of atomic jumps. This research aims to provide new insights into enhancing the contact fatigue life of bearing steel, increasing the proportion of special steel, and optimizing the steel deep-processing process.

Toward automated microstructure characterization of stainless steels through machine learning-based analysis of replication micrographs

Machine learning-driven automated replication micrographs analysis makes possible rapid and unbiased damage assessment of in-service steel components. Although micrographs captured by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) have been analyzed at depth using machine learning, there is no literature available on the technique being attempted on optical replication micrographs. This paper presents a machine-learning approach to segment and quantify carbide precipitates in thermally exposed HP40-Nb stainless-steel microstructures from batches of low-resolution optical images obtained by replication metallography. A dataset of nine micrographs was used to develop a random forest classification model to segment precipitates within the matrix (intragranular) and at grain boundaries (intergranular). The micrographs were preprocessed using background subtraction, denoising, and sharpening to improve quality. The method achieves high segmentation accuracy (91% intergranular, 97% intragranular) compared to human expert classification. Furthermore, segmented micrographs were quantified to obtain carbide size, shape, and density distribution. The correlations in the quantified data aligned with expected carbide evolution mechanisms. Results from this study are promising but necessitate validation of the method on a larger dataset representative of evolution of thermal degradation in steel, given that characterization of the evolution of microstructure components, such as precipitates, applies to broad applications across diverse alloy systems, particularly in extreme service.

Effect of microstructure on wear resistance during high temperature carburization heat treatment of heavy-duty gear steel

To shorten the production cycle of heavy-duty gear steel and ensure its wear resistance, high temperature carburization, two high-temperature tempering, quenching, subzero treatment, and low-temperature tempering treatments were performed on 18Cr2Ni4WA steel in this work. The effect of surface precipitation phases and retained austenite on wear resistance after different heat treatments was studied throughout the process. The results show that an increase in the volume fraction (Vcar) and size (Dcar) of undissolved carbides and a decrease in the volume fraction of retained austenite (Vr) are beneficial to wear resistance. The Vcar increases from 3.4 % to 6.3 %, and the Dcar increases from 152 nm to 161 nm. The undissolved carbides are mainly cementite. The carbon content of retained austenite decreases from 1.02 % to 0.79 %, and Vr decreases from 40.6 % to 4.8 %. In addition, the microstrain increases from 0.386 % to 0.458 %, and the wear rate decreases from 0.49 × 10−8 mm3·N−1·mm−1 to 0.46 × 10−8 mm3·N−1·mm−1. The improvement in wear resistance is mainly attributed to solid solution strengthening of carbon atoms and precipitation strengthening of undissolved carbides.

Relating rolling contact fatigue (RCF) life to the microstructure evolution in aerospace grade bearing steels: A comparison of Cronidur-30 with AISI 440C

This article presents an extensive analysis of the microstructural evolution under various heat treatment conditions, mechanical properties (hardness), and rolling contact fatigue (RCF) life assessment and sub-surface crack analysis are studied on high nitrogen bearing steel Cronidur-30(Cr-30). An optimum solutionising temperature range has been identified which ensures desirable hardness as well as low retained austenite content. The microstructure consists of primary M2 (C, N) and secondary M23C6 carbides. Sizes of carbides in Cr-30 are significantly smaller than in AISI 440C and this plays a critical role in enhancing the RCF life of Cr-30. A larger area fraction of fine carbides results in branches and subsequent sub-branches of cracks in Cr-30 steel. However, the AISI 440C sample exhibits extensively interconnected cracks due to the presence of larger carbides. The tempering response of Cronidur-30 exhibited a peak hardness of 61 HRC at both lower (150 °C) and higher (475 °C) temperatures. Higher temperature tempering showed L1 life improvement of over 0.5 fold compared to lower temperature tempering.

Unleashing the potential of nano-bainite bearing steels: Controllable selection of microstructure evolution enables concurrent improvement of toughness and hardness by pre-cold deformation

In the face of increasingly demanding service conditions for high-end bearings, the need for bearing steels that demonstrate superior mechanical properties, specifically a robust balance of strength and toughness, is growing. The adoption of near-net-shaped cold rolling methods has emerged as a leading international technology to enhance bearing performance. In this study, the effect mechanisms of pre-cold deformation on the phase transformation kinetics, microstructure evolution and mechanical properties of nano-bainite bearing steels are systematically studied. Results reveal that pre-cold deformation treatment effectively reduces the Ac1 temperature of the experimental steel, expedites nano-bainite transformation and promotes strong variant selection during bainite phase transformation. With the increase in pre-cold deformation from 0 % to 50 %, the size of the prior austenite grains decreases from 6.7 μm to 3.3 μm, and the size of carbides in specimens becomes more uniform, whilst the refinement of austenite grains can considerably reduce the thickness of bainitic ferrite plates. The decrease in grain size and the increase in V1–V2 variant pairs lead to an improvement in the toughness of the nano-bainite bearing steel from 64.9 J/cm2 to 114.3 J/cm2. A marginal increase in the hardness of the bearing steel is observed with the increase in pre-cold deformation. Furthermore, this study discusses the evolution mechanism of microstructure in the subsequent phase transformation by different microstructures in the early stage. Results show that pre-cold deformation leads to the transition of the martensite twin substructure in the specimens from {112} <111> twins to twinned variants. These insights offer critical understanding into the microstructural underpinning the enhanced performance of nano-bainite bearing steels subjected to pre-cold deformation treatment.

Quantitative assessment of microstructural damage for interior crack initiation and high cycle fatigue life modeling

Axially loaded cyclic tests of a nickel-based alloy were conducted at 550 °C, 630 °C and 650 °C and stress ratios of −1, −0.3 and 0.5 up to high cycle fatigue regime. Multiscale characterizations and quantitative analyses of microstructural damage were carried out to illustrate the physics and mechanics of interior microstructure induced fatigue strength degradation and cracking. Results showed that the fatigue strength increased with the decreases of twin spacing, the size and aspect ratio of carbide, and γ′ phase size. Twin collapse due to slip band-twin interaction was found for the first time and confirmed as a form of crack initiation process, followed by short crack growth forming facets with significant contribution from shear stress. A new mechanistic fatigue life model of interior microstructure induced cracking was established with sound agreement with experimental data. All these combined into a design-manufacturing integrated approach which are capable of ensuring the safe operation and maintenance of service structures in long-life regime.

Effect of carbide refinement on high temperature erosive wear behavior of high chromium white cast iron with different titanium and carbon additions

It is known that better erosion wear resistance of high chromium (27 wt% Cr) white cast iron (HWCI) with titanium (Ti) addition can be achieved by controlling the size of M7C3 carbides. Nevertheless, it might not be directly applicable to high temperature conditions due to the more complex factors involved, especially the hot oxidation behavior. Therefore, the effect of 0–2 wt% Ti and 3–4 wt% carbon (C) addition on the high temperature erosion wear behavior of HWCI has been investigated in this research. The results show that there are TiC and M7C3 carbides precipitated in the material matrix. The size of M7C3 carbides decreases drastically as the amount of Ti increases. On the contrary, it is effectively enlarged with the addition of higher C. In addition, there is no significant difference in hardness among all specimens due to the relatively similar carbide volume fraction (CVF). The wear resistance of HWCI is improved by increasing the amount of Ti although it has a lower value as the C content increases. It means that hardness is not an important factor in evaluating the wear characteristics of HWCI at high temperatures. The worn surfaces and cross-sections show that the smaller M7C3 carbides are more likely to undergo plastic deformation rather than being directly peeled out. In addition, the effect of hot oxidation behavior was negligible because there is only a very thin oxidation layer on the worn surface. Therefore, it can be concluded that the erosive wear behavior of the material is greatly influenced by the size of M7C3, which the material with better erosive wear resistance contains finer carbides.

Effect of Processing Routes on Physical and Mechanical Properties of Advanced Cermet System

The present research focuses on the effects of different processing routes on the physical and mechanical properties of nano Ti(CN)-based cermets with metallic binders. Tungsten carbide (WC) is added as a secondary carbide and Ni-Co is added as a metallic binder to nano Ti(CN)-based cermet processed via conventional and spark plasma sintering (SPS). A systematic comparison of the composition and sintering conditions for different cermets’ systems was carried out to design novel composition and sintering conditions. Nano TiCN powder was prepared by 30 h of ball milling. The highest density of &gt;98.5% was achieved for the SPS-processed cermets sintered at 1200 °C and 1250 °C for 3 min at 60 MPa of pressure in comparison to the conventionally sintered cermets at 1400 °C for 1 h with a two-stage compaction process—uniaxially at 150 MPa and isostatically at 300 MPa of pressure. Comparative X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis of the milled powders at different time intervals was performed to understand the characteristics of the as-received and milled powders. Peak broadening was observed after 5 h of ball milling, and it increased to 30 hr. Also, peak broadening and a refined carbide size was observed in the XRD and scanning electron microscope (SEM) micrographs of the SPS-processed cermet. Transmission electron microscope (TEM) analysis of the milled powder showed that its internal structure had a regular periodic arrangement of planes. SEM base scattered electron (BSE) images of all the cermets primarily showed three major microstructural phases of the core–rim–binder with black, grey, and white contrast, respectively. With the present sintering conditions, a high hardness of ~16 GPa and a fracture toughness of ~9 MPa m1/2 were obtained for SPS-processed cermets sintered at higher temperatures.