Effect of WC on Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of TiC-based Cermets

The effect of WC addition amount on the microstructure and mechanical properties of the TiC-based cermet was investigated using BSE,EDS and XRD.The results show that the hard phase of the cermet with WC added is constituted of white core-grey rim phase and black core-grey rim phase,both of which are face-centered cubic structure.Increase in the WC addition favors the formation of white core–gray rim phase in the cermet,enhancing the mechanical properties of the cermet.However,with increase of the WC addition,the carbides dissolved in the binder phase increase,and grey rim phases which are formed during the cooling process tend to be coarse in the cermet.The coated grey rim phases are brittle and are not conducive to the improvement of mechanical properties of the cermet.TiC-based cermet with the optimum mechanical properties can be obtained with 6% of WC addition.