| Abstract Scope |
WC-Al2O3 ceramic composite system was investigated as an engineering ceramic system. Al2O3 is a typical material for structural application because of its high hardness and chemical inertness at high temperature, while WC is often used as a superhard material. As a matter of fact, a combination of Al2O3 and WC is expected as a potential candidate for cutting-tool materials. Control of heterointerfaces in advanced composite materials is of scientific and industrial importance, because their interfacial structures and properties often determine overall performance and reliability of the materials. Here distinct improvement of mechanical properties and cutting performance of WC-Al2O3 were achieved by adding of ZrO2 into Al2O3-WC system. Microstructures and interfaces in the composites are characterized by advanced techniques including X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, electron back scattering diffraction and transmission electron microscopy, and it is expected to obtain the correlation of microstructure, property and performance. |