Investigation of the Wear Behavior of Commercial WC-10wt%Co, WC-40vol%Co and WC-40vol%FeAl-B Composites in Ambient Temperature

In this research, the wear behavior of commercial grade of WC-10wt%Co (H10F), WC-40vol%Co and WC-40vol%FeAl-B composites with different amount of boron from zero to 1000ppm was investigated by the pin on disk test method. The wear tests were done in ambient temperature, under load of 40 N and a distance of 100 m. Wear surfaces were examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results showed that among samples, the WC-40vol%FeAl composite without boron has the lowest wear resistance due to higher brittleness and lack of suitable continuity between iron-aluminide matrix and tungsten-carbide particles. This behavior leads to the separation of the reinforcer particles from matrix. In the presence of boron up to 500 ppm in iron-aluminide matrix, the wear behavior of these composites improved and the wear mechanism of these composites changed in to abrasive state. In ambient temperature the wear resistance of WC-40vol%FeAl-500ppmB composite was close to commercial WC-10wt%Co although has lower WC percent.