Effect of medium temperature on the dispersion of WC/ZrO2/VC composite powders

This article proposed a novel method to disperse WC/ZrO2/VC composite powders so as to attain a perfectly uniform suspension. Besides using conventional dispersing means such as adding dispersant (PEG, polyethylene glycol), mechanical stirring, ultrasonic vibration and ball milling, the temperature adjustment of dispersing-medium distilled water had also been employed. The agglomerating and dispersing mechanisms were analyzed by means of TEM observation of WC/ZrO2/VC composite powders dispersed under five different temperatures, with the results showing that the most uniform dispersion was obtained under the temperature of 100 °C based on the criterion for conglomeration number per unit. The dispersed WC/ZrO2/VC composite powders were dried and consequently sintered by hot-press sintering in nitrogen atmosphere at 1580 °C with pressure of 30 MPa. The testing results of mechanical properties such as relative density, hardness, bending strength and fracture toughness show that the optimal properties are obtained by using the WC/ZrO2/VC composite powders dispersed under 100 °C. The surface crack morphologies of sintered samples are investigated and the results show that crack extended in a more tortuous path for the sample sintered from well-dispersed composite powders.