Effect of WC content on ultrasonic properties, thermal and electrical conductivity of WC–Co–Ni–Cr composites

Abstract

This study focused on the effect of WC on the ultrasonic properties, thermal and electrical conductivity of WC–Co–Ni–Cr composites. The samples were produced by powder metallurgy method for microstructural, physical, and ultrasonic characterization. Pulse-echo, hot disk, and four probe methods were used to evaluate the ultrasonic properties, thermal and electrical conductivity of WC–Co–Ni–Cr composites with different WC contents, respectively. Experimental results show that thermal conductivity and electrical conductivity of WC–Co–Ni–Cr composites increase linearly with increasing WC content and then decrease rapidly. The reason for this rapid decrease is expressed in the fact that the structure becomes more ceramic as the WC additive ratio increases. The same situation was observed in ultrasonic measurements. As the amount of WC particles in the sample increased, longitudinal and shear wave velocity, attenuation values, and elastic modulus increased.

Keywords

• powder metallurgy
• thermal conductivity
• electrical conductivity
• ultrasonic velocity
• elastic modulus