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Electropulse (Spark) Plasma Sintering of Ultrafine-Grained WC–Al2O3 Ceramics

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Inorganic Materials: Applied Research Aims and scope

Abstract—

The sintering mechanisms of WC–Al2O3 nanopowder compositions with different contents of al-umina particles (1, 3, and 5 wt %) have been studied. The samples of WC–Al2O3 ceramics are obtained by electropulse (spark) plasma sintering (SPS) in vacuum by heating to a temperature of 1450°C at a rate of 50°C/min under a uniaxial stress of 70 MPa. Plasma-chemical nanopowders of tungsten monocarbide and submicron powders of alumina are used to fabricate the ceramics. The density, microstructure, phase composition, microhardness (HV), and crack resistance (KIC) of the ceramics have been studied. It has been shown that the use of SPS enables the production of WC-Al2O3 ceramics with a high relative density (95.4–98.1%) and a homogeneous microstructure with the ultrafine grain size (0.1–0.2 μm). The X-ray phase analysis has shown that during the SPS of WC–Al2O3 ceramics the formation of undesirable W2C phase occurs which results in a decrease in the crack resistance. To reduce the intensity of formation of W2C particles, free carbon in the form of colloidal graphite (0.1, 0.2, and 0.3 wt %) is introduced into the WC–Al2O3 ceramic. Using the Young–Cutler model and the model of diffusion resorption of pores it has been shown that the main mechanism behind the SPS of WC–Al2O3 ceramics is a grain-boundary diffusion. It has been found that the introduction of graphite leads to a decrease in the activation energy of SPS of the WC–Al2O3 ceramics, which is probably due to a reduction in the W2C particle content to 0.5 wt %.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The TEM studies of microstructures were performed using the facilities of the Center for Collective Use “Materials Science and Metallurgy” at the National University of Science and Technology “MISIS” and were supported by the Russian Ministry of Science and Higher Education, project no. 075-15-2021-696.

Funding

This work was supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research, project no. 20-33-90214.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Lobachevsky National Research State University, 603022, Nizhny Novgorod, Russia

    E. A. Lantsev, A. V. Nokhrin, M. S. Boldin, K. E. Smetanina, A. A. Murashov, G. V. Shcherbak & V. N. Chuvil’deev

  2. Baikov Institute of Metallurgy and Materials Science, Russian Academy of Sciences, 119334, Moscow, Russia

    Yu. V. Blagoveshchenskii, N. V. Isaeva & A. V. Terentyev

  3. National University of Science and Technology “MISiS”, 119049, Moscow, Russia

    N. Yu. Tabachkova

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  1. E. A. Lantsev
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Correspondence to E. A. Lantsev, A. V. Nokhrin, M. S. Boldin, K. E. Smetanina, A. A. Murashov, Yu. V. Blagoveshchenskii, N. V. Isaeva, G. V. Shcherbak, V. N. Chuvil’deev, N. Yu. Tabachkova or A. V. Terentyev.

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Translated by N. Podymova

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Lantsev, E.A., Nokhrin, A.V., Boldin, M.S. et al. Electropulse (Spark) Plasma Sintering of Ultrafine-Grained WC–Al2O3 Ceramics. Inorg. Mater. Appl. Res. 14, 1441–1450 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1134/S2075113323050234

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