Effect of powder particle size on gradient formation and grain growth in ultrafine crystalline gradient cemented carbide

摘要

Sinter-HIP combining vacuum and pressure in one-step sintering process has been applied to prepare ultrafine crystalline cemented carbide with a surface gradient layer enriched in binder. The effect of powder particle size on gradient formation and grain growth has been examined. The results show that the gradient layer thickness increases with decreasing WC and Ti(C,N) powder particle size. The number of abnormal WC grains increases with decreasing WC powder particle size. The formational mechanism of the gradient cemented carbide with ultrafine grains is discussed through analyzing the decomposability of nanoscale Ti(C,N), atomic diffusion and grain growth during one-step Sinter-HIP process. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.