INFLUENCE OF THE ELECTRICAL CURRENT ON THE DENSIFICATION BEHAVIOR OF ULTRAFINE WC-6 Co CEMENTED CARBIDE DURING FIELD ASSISTED SINTERING

摘要

The fundamental characteristics of the FAST (Field Assisted Sintering Technology) process are the application of uniaxial pressure and a pulsed electrical current, which activate the densification and sintering of powder material. In this study the effect of the electrical current on the sintering behavior of ultrafine WC-6 Co cemented carbide was investigated. Therefore, on the one hand a sintering process was carried out with direct heating of the material by an electrical current, which was passed through the powder. On the other hand, the powder material was heated indirectly with isolation from the current pass. The microstructural differences of both materials were characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM).