Strength of Ultrafine-grained WC-Co Cemented Carbide with the Combined Addition of Ti(C,N) and Cr₃C₂

WC-Co ultrafine-grained cemented carbide with the combined addition of Ti(C,N) and Cr₃C₂ was studied for microstructure and mechanical properties. In particular, the strength (transverse rupture strength) of the alloy was examined in detail comparing it with other kinds of cemented carbides. The WC grain size of the alloy with the single addition of Ti(C,N) or Cr₃C₂ became finer with increasing the amount of the additive. The combined addition of Ti(C,N) and Cr₃C₂ made the WC grain size further finer and the microstructure more homogeneous. The hardness of Ti(C,N)-Cr₃C₂ added alloys increased with decreasing the average grain size of WC or the mean free path of the binder phase, but the fracture toughness decreased. The strength of Ti(C,N)-Cr₃C₂ added alloy varied depending on the amount of the additive. It was noted that the strength of 3 vol%Ti(C,N)-0.5 vol%Cr₃C₂ alloy was the best and reached 4.6 GPa on average and 5.0 GPa at the maximum. It was observed that such a high strength alloy was shattered after the transverse rupture strength test and so that it was difficult to detect the fracture origin. Based on the limiting strength that is generated in normal-grained cemented carbide, it was considered that a high strength level exceeding the limiting strength of normal-grained alloy was achieved in the ultrafine-grained cemented carbide obtained in this study. The WC-Co ultrafine-grained cemented carbide with Ti(C,N)-Cr₃C₂ was superior in strength compared to conventional cemented carbide. New applications can be expected to take advantage of these characteristics.