Composition dependence of mechanical properties of diamond segments

This research is devoted to studying the mechanical characteristics of diamond-drilling-tool matrix. The infiltration method at a temperature of 1100–1150°C for 15 min in hydrogen medium was used for making model diamond-containing and diamond-free samples of 24 × 7 × 8 mm matrices of two types differing in content of nickel and fused tungsten carbide, namely WC-Co-Cu (1) and WC-Co-Cu-Ni + cast tungsten carbide (2). A8K160 (500/400 μm), AC50 (500/400 μm), and SDB1125 (30/40 mesh, i.e., 600/425 μm) diamonds were used as diamond-filling materials with a concentration of 9 vol % in the matrix. The bending strength, hardness, density, porosity, and abrasive resistance of drilling tool matrix samples are measured. It is found that WC-Co-Cu-Ni matrix samples have higher hardness and abrasive resistance when compared with WC-Co-Cu, which is explained by the occurrence of nickel and solid particles of tungsten carbide solids in them. The introduction of diamonds in the matrices results in a substantial increase in their hardness (by 8–10 HRC units), which distorts the hardness measured data of matrices in the diamond layer of drill crowns.