Sinterização por SPS de pós de W-C-CO-B preparados por moagem de alta energia

Abstract

Tungsten carbides in cobalt matrix are one of the earliest commercial products of powder metallurgy. These composites are used for different applications among which are highlighted the manufacture of cutting components and abrasives. These composites consist of tungsten carbide and metallic cobalt particles bound by sintering through the liquid phase and they can be produced by conventional chemical reactions. Mechanical alloying techniques are widely used for the synthesis of ceramic compounds. The present work aims to perform studies of mechanical alloying and sintering of powder mixtures of tungsten carbide doped with cobalt (6 wt.-%) and boron (0.2 and 0.5 at.%). Ball milling of W-50C (at.-%) elemental powder mixtures was performed in a planetary Fritsch P-5 ball mill using WC-Co balls (10 mm diameter) and vial (500 mL), rotary speed of 200 rpm, and a ball-to-powder weight ratio of 10:1. The milling time was varied: 20, 60, 180 and 600 minutes. Following, the powders of Co and B were mixed for 5 min in a Spex mill together the previous mechanically alloyed W-50C (at.-%) powders. Afterwards, the as-milled powders were consolidated by spark plasma sintering (SPS) at 1450°C under controlled atmosphere to obtain cylindrical bodies with height of 1-3 mm and 10 mm diameter. The as-milled powders and sintered products were evaluated using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS), and mechanical tests (diametrical compression and Vickers hardness). Peaks of carbon disappeared after milling for 180 min whereas the major W peak was shifted toward the lower diffraction angles in W-50C powders milled for 600 min. In addition, the peaks of W were broadened and their intensities reduced after milling for 600 min, suggesting that the carbon atoms were dissolved into the W lattice in order to form supersaturated solid solutions. SPS process of mechanically alloyed W-50C powders containing Co and B produced dense samples (> 96% of theorical specific mass) which presented microstructures formed by the WC phase as matrix beside the B-rich and W2C precipitates. SPS samples presented Vickers hardness values between 1841 HV and 2191 HV which were more pronounced for B-richer ceramics. For the evaluated ceramics, no effect of boron addition on the elastic module was found, which were close to 500 GPa. On the other hand, the compressive strenght of W-50C ceramics containing Co and B addition were lower than 500 MPa.