Properties and rapid consolidation of WC-based hard materials with various binders by a pulsed current activated sintering method

Using a pulsed current activated sintering (PCAS) method, the densification of VVC-10 wt.% binder (Co, Ni, Fe) hard materials were accomplished within 2 minutes. The advantage of this process is not only rapid densification to near theoretical density but also the prohibition of grain growth in nano-structured materials. Highly dense WC-binder (Co, Ni, Fe) composites with a relative density of up to 99% were obtained within 2 minutes by PCAS under a pressure of 60 MPa. The average grain size of the WC-10 wt.% Co composite was about 500 nm. The hardness and fracture toughness of the dense WC-10 wt.% binder (Co, Ni, Fe) composites produced by PCAS were also investigated.