Effect of initial particulate and sintering temperature on mechanical properties and microstructure of WC–ZrO2–VC ceramic composites

Owing to improving the mechanical properties of cemented carbides in high speed machining fields, a new composite tool material WC–ZrO2–VC (WZV) is prepared from a mixture of yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ) and micrometer VC particles by hot-press-sintering in nitrogenous atmosphere. Commercial WC, of which the initial particle sizes are 0.2 μm, 0.4 μm, 0.6 μm and 0.8 μm, is mixed with zirconia and VC powder in aqueous medium by following a ball mill process. The sintering behavior is investigated by isostatic pressing under different sintering temperature. The relative density and bending strength are measured by Archimedes methods and three-point bending mode, respectively. Hardness and fracture toughness are performed by Vickers indentation method. Microstructure of the composite is characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The correlations between initial particles, densification mechanism, sintering temperature, microstructure and mechanical properties are studied. Experimental results show that maximum densification 99.5% is achieved at 1650 °C and the initial particle size is 0.8 μm. When temperature is 1550 °C and particle size is 0.4 μm, the optimized bending strength (943 MPa) is obtained. The best hardness record is 19.2 GPa when sintering temperature is 1650 and particle size is 0.8 μm. The indention cracks propagate around the grain boundaries and the WC particles fracture, which is associated with particle and microcrack toughening mechanism.