Skip to main content

Lund University Publications

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

Wear properties of cemented carbides with new binder solutions for rock drilling inserts

Toller-Nordström, L. ; Sten, S. ; Kritikos, M. ; Norgren, S. LU ; Borgenstam, A. and Borgh, I. (2025) In Wear 570.
Abstract

Cemented carbides with tungsten carbide grains as hard phase and metallic cobalt binder phase are used extensively for drill bit inserts for rock drilling. The process of rock drilling is severe with some of the wear happening through fracture in the cemented carbide. This work investigated two cemented carbides with iron rich alternative binder phases containing different amounts of FCC phase, intended to minimise the fractures through formation of a BCC phase. The samples are tested next to a reference with cobalt binder and investigations of the as-sintered samples show only very small differences in many of the relevant properties and microstructural features, including hardness, toughness, grain size distribution and binder phase... (More)

Cemented carbides with tungsten carbide grains as hard phase and metallic cobalt binder phase are used extensively for drill bit inserts for rock drilling. The process of rock drilling is severe with some of the wear happening through fracture in the cemented carbide. This work investigated two cemented carbides with iron rich alternative binder phases containing different amounts of FCC phase, intended to minimise the fractures through formation of a BCC phase. The samples are tested next to a reference with cobalt binder and investigations of the as-sintered samples show only very small differences in many of the relevant properties and microstructural features, including hardness, toughness, grain size distribution and binder phase volume fraction. The main difference found is in the amount of FCC in the binder phase microstructure. In a rock turning test it is found that both alternative binder drill bit inserts perform better than the reference with cobalt binder phase, studies of the wear scars show that the wear progresses though fracture of material in all samples with no discernible differences seen. There is however a correlation between volume fraction of FCC in iron-based binders and reduced wear, showing that the concept is promising for further studies.

(Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; ; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Alternative binder, BCC, Cemented carbide, FCC, Rock turning
in
Wear
volume
570
article number
205909
publisher
Elsevier
external identifiers
  • scopus:85218121617
ISSN
0043-1648
DOI
10.1016/j.wear.2025.205909
language
English
LU publication?
yes
additional info
Publisher Copyright: © 2025 The Authors
id
cd7cc4e3-27b5-45f8-aec5-e00280a740b5
date added to LUP
2025-07-04 14:08:39
date last changed
2025-07-04 14:09:34
@article{cd7cc4e3-27b5-45f8-aec5-e00280a740b5,
  abstract     = {{<p>Cemented carbides with tungsten carbide grains as hard phase and metallic cobalt binder phase are used extensively for drill bit inserts for rock drilling. The process of rock drilling is severe with some of the wear happening through fracture in the cemented carbide. This work investigated two cemented carbides with iron rich alternative binder phases containing different amounts of FCC phase, intended to minimise the fractures through formation of a BCC phase. The samples are tested next to a reference with cobalt binder and investigations of the as-sintered samples show only very small differences in many of the relevant properties and microstructural features, including hardness, toughness, grain size distribution and binder phase volume fraction. The main difference found is in the amount of FCC in the binder phase microstructure. In a rock turning test it is found that both alternative binder drill bit inserts perform better than the reference with cobalt binder phase, studies of the wear scars show that the wear progresses though fracture of material in all samples with no discernible differences seen. There is however a correlation between volume fraction of FCC in iron-based binders and reduced wear, showing that the concept is promising for further studies.</p>}},
  author       = {{Toller-Nordström, L. and Sten, S. and Kritikos, M. and Norgren, S. and Borgenstam, A. and Borgh, I.}},
  issn         = {{0043-1648}},
  keywords     = {{Alternative binder; BCC; Cemented carbide; FCC; Rock turning}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{06}},
  publisher    = {{Elsevier}},
  series       = {{Wear}},
  title        = {{Wear properties of cemented carbides with new binder solutions for rock drilling inserts}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.wear.2025.205909}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/j.wear.2025.205909}},
  volume       = {{570}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}