Is tungsten carbide brittle

1.Characteristics of tungsten carbide:

Tungsten carbide has the advantages of high hardness, high strength, high wear resistance, and high temperature resistance, and is an important cutting tool material. However, tungsten carbide also has shortcomings, mainly manifested in low toughness and brittleness.

2.Internal stress concentration:

Tungsten carbide is obtained by high-temperature sintering of metal powder and carbide powder. In this process, due to the different thermal expansion coefficients of the materials, intrinsic stress is formed. When the tungsten carbide material is processed and formed, if the internal stress is not reasonably eliminated, these stresses will be concentrated in the material, causing problems such as cracking and delamination of the material, which will make the tungsten carbide brittle.

3.Grain boundary cracking:

Grain boundaries are the weak links in tungsten carbide and the places where the material is prone to cracking. When the tungsten carbide material is in a high temperature state, due to the small molecular spacing of the material at the grain boundary, it is easy to bend and break the grain boundary. In actual processing applications, if the cutting force is too large and the temperature is too high, the grain boundary of the tungsten carbide material will be more easily damaged.

4.Influence of processing technology:

The processing technology of tungsten carbide will also affect its strength and toughness. For example, excessive heat treatment, excessive cooling, overloading, etc. during processing will affect the mechanical properties of tungsten carbide. In addition, different cutting processing methods, the selection of cutting parameters, etc. will also have a certain impact on the strength and toughness of tungsten carbide materials.

In short, the main reasons for the brittleness of tungsten carbide include problems such as intrinsic stress concentration and grain boundary cracking. In order to improve the mechanical properties of tungsten carbide materials, it is necessary to strengthen the control and optimization of the material preparation process and processing technology to improve the toughness and durability of the material.