Abrasive wear of WC-FeAl-B and WC-Ni3Al-B composites

The abrasion resistance of WC-40vol%(FeAl-B), WC-40vol%(Ni3Al-B), and WC-40vol%Co, prepared from ultra fine precursor powders and processed by uniaxial hot pressing, has been investigated using a pin-on-drum tester. Intermetallic binders, with different amount of boron including 0, 250, 500, 750, and 1000 ppm B, were prepared in ultrafine form under controlled atmosphere using ring grinding, blended with submicron (0.8 μm) WC powder and then uniaxially hot pressed at 1500 °C under a pressure of 20 MPa for 4 min in 10−2 MPa argon atmosphere. In an additional investigation, wear results were compared with that of commercial H10F (WC-10wt%Co, WC particle size of 0.7 μm). It was found that the wear resistance of WC-FeAl-B and WC-Ni3Al-B increased with the increasing amount of boron. WC-40vol%FeAl-B showed the highest abrasion resistance, close to that for WC-10wt%Co (H10F) composite, followed by WC-40vol%Ni3Al-B and WC-40vol%Co.