Influence of Temperature in Barothermal Treatment of Sintered Cemented Carbides on the Evolution of Their Structure and Properties

Abstract We investigated the effect of barothermal treatment at a pressure of 8 GPa and temperatures of 1450–1700°C on the structure and properties of cemented carbides with varying cobalt concentrations. The application of barothermal treatment led to a 30% increase in the grain size of the carbide phase and a decrease in overall porosity. For WC–6Co alloys treated under conditions of solid-phase sintering, an increase in hardness and the stress intensity factor are observed. The barothermal treatment of WC–15Co alloys at temperatures corresponding to the existence of a liquid phase leads to the formation of Co3W3C intermetallic phases.