Tribological performance evaluation of tungsten carbide-based cermets and development of a fracture mechanics wear model

Relatively low fracture toughness of WC-Co materials compared to high speed tool steels is a major concern. Tungsten carbide tools may exhibit sudden brittle fracture at high stresses such as are encountered in shear and slitter knives. This has limited the use of tungsten carbide tools to certain applications in spite of their high hardness and wear resistance. The objective of this investigation is to evaluate the tribological performance of selected cermets and develop a fracture mechanics wear model. Six compositions of WC-Co materials (Co ranging from 4 to 30% by weight) with or without TiC, NbC, TaC, or Mo2C were selected for relating wear modes of these tool materials to pertinent mechanical properties such as fracture toughness and hardness. The influence of mechanical properties such as Young's modulus, hardness, fracture toughness, modulus of rupture, and Weibull modulus on wear rates and wear modes of the selected materials is presented and discussed. The major mechanisms of wear in WC-Co materials are discussed as they apply to the development of suitable relationships between wear and mechanical properties. The wear process is by the transfer of steel from the ring to the cemented carbide block specimens, initiation of mode I cracks normal to the mating surface, propagation of mode II cracks parallel to the wear surfaces and the subsequent separation of platelets with adhered WC and Co particles through adhesive forces with the steel ring. The wear rates of the cermets do not show a consistent relationship with mode I or mode II fracture toughness, but a general trend of decreasing wear rate with hardness is seen. This suggests that the tribological performance of these cermets depends on certain specific functions of pertinent parameters including fracture toughness, hardness, applied load, coefficient of friction and microstructural characteristics. A fracture mechanics-based wear model has been developed to relate the steady state wear rate (W-ss) to hardness, mode II fracture toughness, coefficient of friction, and applied load.