Consolidation of Ultrafine Binderless Cemented Carbide by Spark Plasma Sintering

Owing to the absence of metal binder, binderless cemented carbides have higher wear, corrosion and oxidation resistance. This paper mainly discusses the effect of parameters (such as initial pressure, final pressure, sintering temperature, sintering time) on the effects of densification for binderless cemented carbide in a SPS process using WC-0.3VC-0.5Cr3C2 powder with an average grain size of 200nm. Nearly complete dense ultrafine binderless cemented carbide was successfully consolidated at 1400°C for 120s under 50 MPa pressure. Phase confirmation shows W2C in sintered sample. It is essential to add extra carbon for BLC with only WC phase. The WC grain size in the sintered sample was almost consistent with the initial powder.