Cemented carbide containing tungsten carbide and iron alloy binder

Abstract

A sintered cemented carbide body including tungsten carbide, and a substantially cobalt-free binder including an iron-based alloy sintered with the tungsten carbide. The iron-based alloy is approximately 2-25% of the overall weight percentage of the sintered tungsten carbide and iron-based alloy. The tungsten carbide may be approximately 90 wt % and the iron-based alloy may be approximately 10 wt % of the overall weight percentage of the sintered tungsten carbide and iron-based alloy. The tungsten carbide may comprise a substantially same size before and after undergoing sintering. The iron-based alloy may be sintered with the tungsten carbide using a uniaxial hot pressing process, a spark plasma sintering process, or a pressureless sintering process. The sintered tungsten carbide and iron-based alloy has a hardness value of at least 15 GPa and a fracture toughness value of at least 11 MPa√m.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION[0001]This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Non-Provisional patent application Ser. No. 15 / 807,604 filed on Nov. 9, 2017 which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62 / 420,332 filed on Nov. 10, 2016, the contents of which, in their entireties, are herein incorporated by reference.GOVERNMENT INTEREST[0002]The embodiments herein may be manufactured, used, and / or licensed by or for the United States Government without the payment of royalties thereon.BACKGROUNDTechnical Field[0003]The embodiments herein generally relate to compositions of matter, and more particularly to compositions of cemented carbide materials with iron alloys.Description of the Related Art[0004]Tungsten carbide (WC) materials have become critically important in many military and commercial engineering applications, due to their unique combination of high strength, hardness, and fracture toughness. The most common cemented carbides in use tod...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The patent text describes a new type of cemented tungsten carbide body that has very high hardness and fracture toughness values. The body is made by sintering tungsten carbide with a substantially cobalt-free binder made of an iron-based alloy. The sintering process can be done using various methods such as uniaxial hot pressing, field assisted sintering, or pressureless sintering. The iron-based alloy is made up of zirconium and is present in a small amount compared to the tungsten carbide. The resulting cemented tungsten carbide body has uniform distribution of the tungsten carbide and iron-based alloy, with no more than 0.5% cobalt content. The tungsten carbide particles have a size of 0.5-20 μm and the iron-based alloy has a particle size of less than 100 nm. The technical effect of this patent is to provide a new material with superior hardness and fracture toughness values, which can be used in various applications such as cutting tools and engine parts.

Problems solved by technology

Cobalt is a costly strategic material and is also an environmentally hazardous material that has been classified as a possible human carcinogen and toxic to aquatic life.

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