2014 Volume 55 Issue 6 Pages 947-951
A new metal mold material for pulsed current sintering (PCS) methods at high temperatures with higher electrical resistivity than cemented carbide molds, was fabricated using mechanical milling and PCS. The constituent (100 − x)(WC–10 or 30FeAl) + xC (x = 0–8; mass%) hard material with dispersed spherical carbon particles were synthesized via mechanical milling of the source powders and PCS. The three-point flexural strength and electrical resistivity of the hard material decreased and increased with an increase in the carbon content, respectively. The 98(WC–10FeAl) + 2C alloy showed a flexural strength of 1 GPa and resistivity of 0.59 × 10−4 Ω cm. The material did not exhibit plastic deformation at 1073 K at 100 MPa under compression. The metal mold made from the 97(WC–10FeAl) + 3C was used for PCS at 1073 K at 200 MPa, suggesting that the carbon-dispersed WC–FeAl hard material was capable of being employed as a new mold material for the PCS method.
