Effect of different preform structures on interfacial microstructure and wear properties of WC/Fe composites material

The WC preform was prepared by vacuum sintering, and a WC/Fe composite was obtained by an infiltration casting process with different preform structures. The microstructure of the composite was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), and x-ray diffraction (XRD), and the wear properties of the three-body abrasives were further studied. The temperature field and solid-liquid variable field of the WC/Fe composite were simulated using finite element software. The results show that the microstructure of the WC/Fe composite contains WC, Ni3Fe, Ni17W3, Fe3W3C, and M7C3 carbides. With an increase in the preform column spacing from 10 mm to 20 mm, the width of the transition layer of the WC/Fe composite increased, and the hardness increased from 749 HV to 853 HV. The mass loss of the WC/Fe composite decreased initially and then increased with an increase in the preform column spacing. The microstructure and wear resistance of materials are related to the W content in the transition layer, and the diffusion behavior of W is affected by the diffusion distance and time.