Abrasive wear of WC-FeAl composites

The abrasive wear behavior of tungsten-carbide iron-aluminide composite materials was investigated using a pin-on-drum wear-testing machine. Samples were prepared by uniaxially hot pressing blended powders. The wear rates of specimens containing 40 vol.% matrix of atomic composition, Fe60Al40, were measured and results compared with those of conventional WC-10 vol.% Co hardmetal. They were found to be comparable to those of WC-10% Co hardmetal, when abraded by 120 μm SiC papers under identical conditions. The wear resistance of WC-Fe60Al40 composites increased with reduction in WC-grain size and associated with increase in composite hardness. Scanning electron microscopy revealed that the wear surfaces of WC-40% Fe60Al40 composites and WC-Co hardmetal were similar in appearance. The higher hardness and work hardening ability of Fe60Al40 binder, as compared to Co metal, are believed to be responsible for the excellent abrasive wear resistance of WC composites containing iron aluminide binder.