Layered Polycrystalline Diamond Tool Interface
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Solution Overview
Problem
High impact wear resistant tools, such as drill bits and crusher inserts, face issues with delamination and fracture due to residual stresses and non-shear failure modes at the interface between superhard materials and carbide substrates, leading to reduced wear life and efficacy.
Innovation Solution
A high impact wear resistant tool design featuring a superhard material bonded to a cemented metal carbide substrate at a non-planar interface, with multiple diamond layers of varying catalyzing material concentrations and geometries, including inverted cone-shaped and leached layers, to enhance strength and durability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If a planar interface is used between superhard material and carbide substrate, then the manufacturing process is simple, but the tool is susceptible to delamination and fracture due to residual stresses
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies curvature to the interface between the superhard material and carbide substrate by forming a non-planar interface with a radius of curvature between 0.001 and 0.010 inches. This curved interface distributes residual stresses more effectively compared to a flat planar interface, reducing the likelihood of delamination and fracture while maintaining manufacturing feasibility through conventional HPHT pressing processes.
2Ease of manufacture
If a single uniform diamond layer is used, then the manufacturing process is simple, but the tool lacks optimized strength and wear resistance under intense forces
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the superhard material into multiple distinct layers with varying properties. Each layer has different thicknesses, catalyzing material concentrations, and geometric configurations. This segmentation allows optimization of each layer for specific functions - some layers provide wear resistance while others provide impact strength - thereby enhancing overall tool performance under intense forces and vibrations.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements local quality variations within the superhard material structure by creating layers with different catalyzing material concentrations (ranging from 0.1 to 10 weight percent) and different geometric configurations. Each local region of the material has optimized properties suited to its specific functional requirements, such as higher catalyzing material concentration near the substrate interface for better bonding or specific geometric shapes for stress distribution.
3Strength
If high catalyzing material concentration is used throughout the superhard material, then the bonding to substrate is improved, but the wear resistance and impact strength are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by varying the catalyzing material concentration across different layers. The layer adjacent to the carbide substrate has a higher catalyzing material concentration (optimizing bonding), while distal layers have progressively lower concentrations (optimizing wear resistance and impact strength). This gradient distribution resolves the contradiction by assigning different material compositions to different functional zones.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the superhard material into multiple layers with different catalyzing material concentrations. This segmentation allows the interface layer to be optimized for bonding strength while distal layers are optimized for wear resistance and impact strength, preventing the uniform high concentration that would compromise wear resistance and impact strength.
4Duration of action of stationary object
If the superhard material layer is made thick to increase wear resistance, then the wear life is extended, but the likelihood of fracture and delamination increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the thick superhard material into multiple thinner layers with varying properties. This segmentation allows the overall thickness to be sufficient for wear resistance while each individual layer remains thin enough to minimize stress concentration and delamination risk. The layered structure distributes mechanical stresses more effectively than a single thick layer.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a composite structure with multiple superhard material layers having different compositions and properties. Each layer contributes different characteristics - some provide wear resistance while others provide fracture resistance - creating a composite material system that achieves both extended wear life and reduced fracture/delamination likelihood that a single uniform layer cannot achieve.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The design significantly increases the strength and wear resistance of the tool, reducing the likelihood of delamination and fracture, thereby extending the tool's operational life and maintaining its cutting efficacy under intense forces and vibrations.
Implementation Method 1
The substrates and adjacent diamond crystals are then compressed under HPHT conditions which promotes a sintering of the diamond grains to form the polycrystalline diamond structure
Implementation Method 2
A diamond layer adjacent the substrate of the superhard material has a higher catalyzing material concentration than a diamond layer at a distal end of the superhard material
Data Source
AI summary
In one aspect of the present invention, a high impact wear resistant tool has a superhard material bonded to a cemented metal carbide substrate at a non-planar interface. The superhard material has a thickness of at least 0.100 inch and forms an included angle of 35 to 55 degrees. The superhard material has a plurality of substantially distinct diamond layers. Each layer of the plurality of layers has a different catalyzing material concentration. A diamond layer adjacent the substrate of the superhard material has a higher catalyzing material concentration than a diamond layer at a distal end of the superhard material.