INVESTIGATION OF THE WEAR RESISTANCE OF WC–Co AND WC–Co–ZrO2 ALLOYS FORMED BY SPARK-PLASMA SINTERING

Abstract

A comparative study of the wear resistance of three different samples of composite materials is presented: 94%WC–6%Co, 90.24%WC–5.76%Co–4%ZrO₂, and 84.60%WC–5.4%Co–10%ZrO₂. The composites were made by spark-plasma sintering. Wear resistance experiments were carried out at room temperature on the test machine of Optimol Instruments Prüftechnik GmbH in the reciprocating ball test mode with an Al₂O₃ ball in sliding dry contact oscillating at a frequency of 50 Hz under a load of 20 N. Significant differences between the three composites were found, with the sample of the composite with a high ZrO₂ concentration having higher wear resistance compared to composites with a lower ZrO₂ concentration and a composite without ZrO₂. It is shown that the 90.24WC–5.76Co–4ZrO₂ and 84.60WC–5.4Co–10ZrO₂ composites measured at a load of 20 N show significantly lower wear rates (3.772×10^–8 mm³×H^–1/(N×m) and 1.485±0.149×10^–8 mm³×H^–1/(N×m), respectively) than the 94WC–6Co composite (0.92 and 7.344±0.808×10^–8 mm³×H^–1/(N×m)).