Spark plasma sintering and hot pressing sintering of nanocrystalline WC-10CO-0.8VC

WC-10Co-0.8VC nanocrystalline powders were sintered by spark plasma sintering (SPS) and hot pressing sintering (HPS), and the microstructure and properties were compared. Results show that, sintered at 1300 degrees C, the sample prepared by SPS for only 3 minutes has higher density than that prepared by HPS for 60 minutes. SEM and SPM observation shows SPS at 1200 degrees C has a more uniform and finer microstructure, and most of the WC grains are smaller than 100nm. It has a relative density of 95.1%, HV30 of 1887, and K-IC of 11.5 M Pam(1/2). if a suitable sintering parameter is chosen, SPS is a promising consolidation technique to prepare nanocrystalline WC-10Co-0.8VC with improved properties.