Effect of diamond layer thickness on tool wear of polycrystalline diamond composites

Well-sintered polycrystalline diamond composite (PDC) is a hard material obtained from WC-Co substrate and diamond using a high-temperature high-pressure (HPHT) process. PDC has immense potential in aerospace, automobile, oil and gas, and tool manufacturing industries. In this study, PDC was formed by sintering diamond powder (average crystal size = 10 mu m) and WC-15 wt% Co substrates at HPHT and the diamond layer thickness is 1.2 mm. The thicknesses of the diamond layer on the PDC cutter were varied, and their effects on the PDC cutter wear were examined. Wear experiments and hardness tests were conducted on samples with varying diamond layer thicknesses. They were characterized using scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and Hall effect, and these revealed that (1) hardness of the PDC slightly increased with an increase in the thickness of the diamond layer, and (2) the PDC tool's life could be improved by appropriately increasing the thickness of the diamond layer. The findings of this study provide insights for future studies on designing and optimizing the properties of the PDC.