Rapid Sintering of nanostructured Tungsten Carbide by High-Frequency Induction Heating and its Mechanical Properties

Abstract

Extremely dense WC with a relative density of up to 99% was obtained within five minutes under a pressure of 80 MPa using the High-Frequency Induction Heated Sintering method. The average grain size of the WC was about 71 nm. The advantage of this process is not only rapid densification to obtain a neartheoretical density but also the prohibition of grain growth in nano-structured materials. The hardness and fracture toughness of the dense WC produced by HFIHS were 2660 kg·mm−2 and 7.2 MPa·m1/2, respectively.