Abstract:
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It is now well-established that cemented carbides exhibit outstanding mechanical properties,
combining the hardness of the ceramic phase with the toughness of the binder phase, as
compared to other materials used for engineering and tooling applications. It has been
extensively documented on the basis of indentation hardness and bending strength tests,
mostly conducted on WC-Co grades. On the other hand, knowledge on the mechanical
properties of cemented carbides with different binder, such as Ni, which are receiving
increased attention, are scarce. In doing so, particular emphasis is placed on assessing
microstructural characteristics, mechanical features such as hardness, transverse rupture
strength, fracture toughness, fatigue limit and fatigue crack growth rate, and the
corresponding fractographic analysis. The use of nickel, in a fine microstructure, appears to
provide results as good as those found for cobalt bound ones in terms of toughness and
fatigue resistance. |