Investigation of WC–Co alloy properties based on thermodynamic calculation and Weibull distribution

The influence of alloy composition and sintering temperature on the mechanical properties and reliability of WC–Co cemented carbides was studied theoretically and experimentally. For the first time, through a hybrid approach of thermodynamic calculations and Weibull distribution, the comprehensive performance of ultrafine WC–Co cemented carbides with different C contents and inhibitor type was investigated in detail. The carbon content of WC–10 wt-% Co–0.5 wt-% Cr cemented carbides was carefully controlled within the range of 5.38−5.52 wt-%. The contents of Cr and V are chosen to be in the range of 0–1 wt-%. It is found that WC–10 wt-% Co–0.5 wt-% Cr alloys with 5.46 wt-% C or 5.5 wt-% C show excellent mechanical properties and high reliability. WC–10 wt-% Co alloys with 0.5 wt-% Cr and 0.4 wt-% Cr–0.2 wt-% V demonstrate high mechanical property and reliability. The results of this study can be used to design process parameters during the manufacture of WC–Co cemented carbides.