Enhanced mechanical properties of WC-reinforced Al2O3 ceramics via spark plasma sintering

We report the enhanced mechanical properties of WC-reinforced Al2O3 nano composites fabricated by spark plasma sintering (SPS). The addition of WC accelerates the sintering process and helps in improving the mechanical properties of Al2O3 matrix by hindering its grain growth. The resulting microstructure shows uniformity with a grain size of 300–500 nm. Due to the refined microstructure of composites, the hardness and fracture toughness values are found to increase with the decrease of the Al2O3 grain size. In addition, toughening mechanism of this composite also has been discussed in this study.