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°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°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 KIC of 11.5 MPam1/2. If a suitable sintering parameter is chosen, SPS is a promising consolidation technique to prepare nanocrystalline WC-10Co-0.8VC with improved properties.