Influence of Carbon Content of WC-Co Electrode Materials on the Wear Resistance of Electrospark Coatings

Alexander A. Burkov, Sergey A. Pyachin, Alexey V. Zaytsev

Institute of Materials, Khabarovsk Scientific Centre, Far East Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Khabarovsk, Russia..

DOI: 10.4236/jsemat.2012.22012                

Abstract

In the electrospark deposition (ESD) of WC-Co materials on low carbon steel, tungsten carbide (WC) decarburization is observed. The use of an inert atmosphere (argon) does not eliminate the problem of tungsten carbide decarburization during electrospark processing. The effect of the carbon concentration of electrode materials on the phase composition and mechanical properties of WC (10 wt% of Co) ESD coatings has been investigated in this work. The introduction of additional carbon (graphite) in the electrode material on the basis of the WC-10%Co leads to an increased amount of WC in the obtained coatings and thus improves their wear resistance.

Keywords

Hard Coating; Electrospark Deposition; Tungsten Carbide; Wear

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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