Thermodynamic calculations and experimental verification in the WC-Co-Cr cemented carbide system

Tungsten carbide and cobalt have always been, and still are, the foundation of cemented carbides. Modern grades include several other alloying elements, apart from just WC-Co, added for several different purposes. For example, by adding chromium it is possible to produce extremely fine grained grades compared to straight WC-Co grades and thus the freedom to tailor the properties of the material is increased. By applying thermodynamic calculations it is possible to design the material and also avoid some of the costly trial-and-error procedures. However, there is also a need for experimental verification in order to have confidence in the predictive calculations. The present work concerns the application of thermodynamic calculations to some relevant compositions together with experimental verification in the WC-Co-Cr system. Special focus is given to the limiting conditions for precipitation of unwanted phases with regards to the Cr-content in the binder, C-content and melting temperatures. No regard is taken to the presumable Cr-solubility in the WC phase itself.