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Metal-ceramic wettability is a decisive parameter in the high-temperature sintering of hard materials. Wettability tests enable the study of this property with minimum material waste, especially useful in the search of alternative systems to WC-Co hardmetals. In this investigation, Fe-based binders – FeNiCr and FeCrAl – were tested on Ti(C,N) and WC substrates, aiming to assess: the high-temperature interactions, the dissolutive character of the liquid phase and the nature of the interphases generated, and the influence on sintering behaviour. As a result, FeNiCr led to excellent wetting scenarios for both ceramics, whereas FeCrAl alloys induced the formation of aluminium oxides. The effect of C addition on wettability was also evaluated, resulting in an improvement of this property by the inclusion of this element in the binder phase. Inspection of the microstructures resultant from powder metallurgy processing of the different configurations confirmed their excellent correlation with wettability results. As a consequence, the effectivity of this technique as a model of the sintering scenario could be asserted. The current investigation was supported by the Spanish Government (Agencia Estatal de Investigación) and European Union through the project AEI/10.13039/501100011033 (PID2019-106631GB-C41/C43) and grants BES-2016-077340 and Margarita Salas, as well as the Regional Government of Madrid through the program ADITIMAT, ref. S2018/NMT-4411. The authors would like to acknowledge and thank CERATIZIT Group (Mamer, Luxembourg), for their contribution to the processing of the hard materials, and Johannes Pötschke, from Fraunhofer Institute for Ceramic Technologies and Systems IKTS, for providing binderless WC substrates. Funding for APC: Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (Read & Publish Agreement CRUE-CSIC 2022). |
