Study on the effect of gap pressure on the geometric characteristics of the tungsten carbide powder produced by electrical discharge

The aim of the current research was to investigate the effect of pressure gradient in the gap on morphological and geometrical characteristics of the powder synthesized by electrical discharge method and optimizing it. Electrical discharge is a modern and high performance approach towards yielding ultrafine powder. The pressure gradient was inducted by pulsed flushing using various current flows of deionized water and ethanol and, two rods of graphite and tungsten were used to yield tungsten carbide powder. Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) images show that the powder contains both electrode's material and is within nano range. Furthermore, the SEM images demonstrate that with increasing pressure gradient there is a decline in powder agglomeration. Particle Size Analysis (PSA) results reveal that the mean particle size of the powder produced in deionized water and ethanol is approximately 100nm and the particles produced in ethanol are smaller. Moreover, the size of the crystals of the synthesized particle are within 30-44 nm range. X-ray diffraction showed that the dominant phases of the powder in ethanol and deionized water are WC1-x and W2C respectively. Overall, the results prove that causing steep gradient in the gap, it is possible to synthesize geometrically uniform powder with decent production rate.