Fracture and fatigue behavior of WC–Co and WC–CoNi cemented carbides

The fracture and fatigue characteristics of several cemented carbide grades are investigated as a function of their microstructure. In doing so, the influence of binder chemical nature and content (Co and 76wt.% Co–24wt.% Ni), as well as carbide grain size on hardness, flexural strength, fracture toughness and fatigue crack growth (FCG) behavior is evaluated. Mechanical testing is combined with a detailed inspection of crack–microstructure interaction, by means of scanning electron microscopy, in order to evaluate crack-path tortuosity and to discern fracture and fatigue micromechanisms within the metallic binder. Results show that CoNi-base hardmetals exhibit slightly lower hardness but higher toughness values than Co-base grades. Meanwhile, flexural strength is found to be rather independent of the binder chemical nature. Regarding FCG behavior, experimental results indicate that: (1) FCG threshold (Kth) values for coarse-grained grades are higher than those measured for the medium-grained ones; and (2) fatigue sensitivity levels exhibited by CoNi- and Co-base cemented carbides, for a given binder mean free path, are similar. These findings are rationalized on the basis of the increasing relevance of crack deflection mechanisms as microstructure gets coarser and the evidence of similar fatigue degradation phenomena within the binder independent of its chemical nature, respectively.