Alternative Ni-based cemented carbide binder – Hardness characterization by nano-indentation and focused ion beam

• The nano-hardness in the alternative 85Ni-15Fe binder phase of WC cemented carbide has been investigated. High-resolution scanning electron microscopy (SEM) imaging was used to measure the projected indentation area and a general pile-up correction, confirmed on selected indents, has been employed using atomic force microscopy (AFM). Focused ion-beam (FIB) cross-sections have been used to investigate the binder morphology below the indentations and the local binder hardness has been associated to the distance to the surrounding WC grains. Generally, decreasing distance to the WC grains leads to increased binder hardness. Furthermore, the nano-hardness for the cemented carbide binder has been corrected for the indentation size effect (ISE) to obtain the corresponding macroscopic hardness. A solid solution strengthening model for multicomponent bulk alloys was used to calculate the expected binder Vickers hardness considering the binder solubilities of W and C. Both the strengthening model and the ISE corrected hardness values, for larger binder regions, are in good agreement indicating that the intrinsic binder phase hardness is similar to that of a bulk metal alloy with similar composition.

Ämnesord

TEKNIK OCH TEKNOLOGIER  -- Materialteknik -- Metallurgi och metalliska material (hsv//swe)

ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY  -- Materials Engineering -- Metallurgy and Metallic Materials (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Alternative binder hardness

Binder shape

Cemented carbides

Constrained binder

Indentation size effect

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