Wear performance of spark plasma sintered Co/WC and cBN/Co/WC composites

• 6(wt.%)Co/WC and 25(vol.%)cBN/6Co/WC composites were fabricated by SPS technique.
• Wear tests were performed by ball-on-disk contact with dry and rotational sliding.
• The cBN addition was enhanced the wear resistance of tungsten carbides.
• The SPS process has potential for the fabrication of WCs with high wear properties.

The present study investigates the efficiency of spark plasma sintering (SPS) technique on the tribological behavior of tungsten carbide composites, and aims to develop the wear resistance of these composites by addition of cubic boron nitride (cBN). Wear tests of spark plasma sintered 6(wt.%)Co/WC, 25(vol%)cBN/6Co/WC and conventionally fabricated 6(wt.%)Co/WC as a reference sample were performed by ball-on-disk contact with dry and rotational sliding at room temperature in order to determine the friction coefficient and wear rate. Wear mechanisms were explained by using SEM observations and the wear rates were computed by a surface profilometer. In all cases, the major wear mechanisms were observed gradually in the form of microcraking, material removal by grain pull out, and generation and spalling of a tribochemical layer. Based on the experimental results, the addition of cBN considerably enhanced the wear resistance of tungsten carbides. In addition, these results revealed that SPS process has outstanding potential for the fabrication of tungsten carbides with high wear properties for tribological applications.