A new route to fabricate high-performance binderless tungsten carbide: Dynamic sinter forging

In this paper, we report the synthesis of fully dense and ultrafine-grained binderless tungsten carbide (WC) by novel dynamic sinter forging. A nearly fully dense sample was obtained at 1500 degrees C and 220 +/- 30 MPa@90 min. The hardness and fracture toughness of the sample with forging time of 180 min are 29.6 GPa and 7.3 MPa center dot m(1/2), respectively, much higher than the counterparts prepared by conventional sinter forging and other techniques. The enhanced densification and mechanical properties are attributed to the intragranular plastic deformation accommodated grain-boundary sliding induced by oscillatory pressure during dynamic sinter forging. The current results suggest a promising approach for the manufacturing of high-performance binderless WCs. Also, the method is likely applicable to other material systems.