Study of sintering variables of tungsten carbide particles sputter-deposited with stainless steel

WC-stainless steel 304 (AISI) composite powders have been prepared by an innovative process, which consists in the use of a magnetron sputtering to coat WC powder particles with the stainless steel elements. The characteristics of the particle surfaces are strongly changed by the sputtering process, leading to rough surfaces with increased reactivity. The objective of this work was to study the sintering variables of these tungsten carbide-stainless steel powders. For such, powder compacts were sintered using different conditions of thermal cycle. Samples were characterised by inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy with chemical analysis. The experimental results are analysed and the sintering conditions leading to densified compacts with a controlled composition, microstructure and crystallographic structure are discussed.