Wear of a new type of diamond composite

The erosion and abrasion resistances of a new type of composite consisting of diamond particles embedded in a silicon carbide matrix have been evaluated. The investigation is a comparative study in which a conventional cemented carbide, a commercially available polycrystalline diamond material and some common engineering ceramics are included as reference materials. The materials are characterised in terms of wear rates and scanning electron microscopy images of the worn surfaces. It was found that the new diamond-silicon carbide composites were comparable to the commercial diamond composite, and out-competed the other reference materials in erosive and abrasive wear. The results are discussed in terms of the microstructural characteristics of the composites. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.