Influence of La2O3 addition on hardness, flexural strength and microstructure of hot-pressing sintered WC–MgO bulk composites
✍ Scribed by J. Ma; S.G. Zhu; P. Di; Y. Zhang
- Publisher
- Elsevier Science
- Year
- 2011
- Weight
- 920 KB
- Volume
- 32
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0261-3069
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✦ Synopsis
A detailed investigation is carried out into the influences of the lanthanum oxide (La 2 O 3 ) addition upon the microstructural characteristics and the mechanical properties of the WC-MgO composite bulk prepared by hot-pressing sintering. The results indicate that due to the unique properties of rare earth element such as high surface activity and large ionic radius, the addition of trace La 2 O 3 can suppress the decarburization, promote the microstructural refinement and improve the particulate dispersion homogeneity and the particulate/matrix interfacial coherence. Consequently, the relative density of the sintered sample with 0.1 wt.% La 2 O 3 addition can be increased by 4.2% as compared with the sample without La 2 O 3 addition. Mechanical properties of bulks were determined by hardness test and flexural strength measurement. The results showed the possibility of preparing high hardness and fracture strength WC-MgO composite materials with the La 2 O 3 added.