<p>The aim with this study was to investigate the effects a change of manufacturing process would have on the mechanical properties of drill bits made of a WC/Co composite used for stone cutting. The method used today is sintering, where the material is heated in a conventional sintering oven. The other method was microwave sintering, where the material is heated by radiation in the microwave region. Also an investigation of the manufacturing cost were made.</p><p>The main difference between the two heating methods is that the conventional way is a rather slow process and the microwave method is very fast. The material is also heated homogeniously in the method with mirowaves, aposed to the case with the conventional sintering where the material is heated from the outside in.</p><p>This makes the material harder and more wear resistent. Another positive effect is that the pysical properties of the drill bits is easier to controll, because of the very small grain growth due to the short process time.The cost of manufacturing these drill bits by microwave sintering does not exceed the cost of the conventionall sintering.</p>

The aim with this study was to investigate the effects a change of manufacturing process would have on the mechanical properties of drill bits made of a WC/Co composite used for stone cutting. The method used today is sintering, where the material is heated in a conventional sintering oven. The other method was microwave sintering, where the material is heated by radiation in the microwave region. Also an investigation of the manufacturing cost were made. The main difference between the two heating methods is that the conventional way is a rather slow process and the microwave method is very fast. The material is also heated homogeniously in the method with mirowaves, aposed to the case with the conventional sintering where the material is heated from the outside in. This makes the material harder and more wear resistent. Another positive effect is that the pysical properties of the drill bits is easier to controll, because of the very small grain growth due to the short process time.The cost of manufacturing these drill bits by microwave sintering does not exceed the cost of the conventionall sintering.

In this thesis, drill bit buttons with cobalt, nickel and iron binders in different compositions have been tested against granite and sandstone and the wear and friction have been measured. Furthermore, the wear and degradation of the buttons have been categorized. Buttons with cobalt binder were tested against granite and sandstone and buttons with alternative binders (Ni, Fe, Co) were tested against granite. Cobalt buttons were used as a reference and the wear and friction of the alternative binders was compared to the reference. The amount of worn rock was also measured. Furthermore, post treated drill bit buttons with a composition of Fe-Ni-Co were compared to buttons with the same composition that had not been post treated The results show that buttons with an alternative composition of Fe-Co-Ni and Fe- Ni wears less than the cobalt reference. The post treatment process does not decrease the wear of the drill bit but lowers the deviation from the mean wear. The amount of worn rock does not differ between the samples except for between the post treated and not post treated buttons with a composition of Fe-Ni-Co. The post treated buttons produces more rock debris than the not post treated. No apparent difference could be seen on the surface of the tested buttons after the test. However, composition specific cracks could be found underneath the surface of the samples. EDS-analysis showed signals of oxygen inside of all of the investigated cracks. For some compositions at depths of 20 micrometers. The curves of friction shows similar appearance but the values of the coefficient of friction differs. No apparent correlation was found between the wear and friction of the samples. Furthermore, no apparent correlation was found between the hardness and the wear of the buttons.

In dieser Arbeit wurden das feldaktivierte Sinterverhalten sowie das geschwindigkeitsabhängige Druckfestigkeitsverhalten von WC-Co-Hartstoffen mit variierenden Bindergehalten untersucht. Dazu wurde eine Herstellungsroute für kornwachstumshemmerfreie near-nanokristalline WC-Co-Hartstoffe mit der Field Assisted Sintering Technique (FAST) entwickelt und genutzt, um Materialien mit Co-Gehalten von 2 bis 12 Ma.-% zu erzeugen. Gezielte Werkstoffzustände und Probengeometrien sind durch Anpassung des Sinterprozesses herstellbar. Ausgewählte WC-Co-Materialien mit Co-Anteilen von 6 bis 12 Ma.-% wurden unter Einfluss von Beanspruchungsgeschwindigkeit, Spannungszustand und Beanspruchungshäufigkeit hinsichtlich der Druckfestigkeit und des Versagensverhaltens charakterisiert.

In dieser Arbeit wurden das feldaktivierte Sinterverhalten sowie das geschwindigkeitsabhängige Druckfestigkeitsverhalten von WC-Co-Hartstoffen mit variierenden Bindergehalten untersucht. Dazu wurde eine Herstellungsroute für kornwachstumshemmerfreie near-nanokristalline WC-Co-Hartstoffe mit der Field Assisted Sintering Technique (FAST) entwickelt und genutzt, um Materialien mit Co-Gehalten von 2 bis 12 Ma.-% zu erzeugen. Gezielte Werkstoffzustände und Probengeometrien sind durch Anpassung des Sinterprozesses herstellbar. Ausgewählte WC-Co-Materialien mit Co-Anteilen von 6 bis 12 Ma.-% wurden unter Einfluss von Beanspruchungsgeschwindigkeit, Spannungszustand und Beanspruchungshäufigkeit hinsichtlich der Druckfestigkeit und des Versagensverhaltens charakterisiert.

Ces travaux de thèse ont pour objectif de contribuer au développement de procédés innovants pour les assemblages contenant des métaux durs. Le procédé d’expansion à froid, dont l’efficacité a été prouvée à de nombreuses reprises sur les alliages d’aluminium et dont les qualités sont nombreuses, a attiré notre attention. L’objectif de la thèse est d’apporter des éléments de réponse quant à l’intérêt de l’utilisation du procédé d’expansion au sein des métaux durs, mesuré notamment par son impact sur la performance en fatigue. Plus généralement, il s’agit de comprendre son fonctionnement et son mode d’action au sein de ces alliages à hautes performances. Dans les travaux réalisés, les challenges scientifiques et techniques s’articulent autour de plusieurs thématiques d’étude. Des essais expérimentaux ont été effectués en vue de prouver la faisabilité du procédé mais aussi de mesurer de son impact sur la tenue fatigue d’alésages en alliages de titane (Ti-6Al-4V), en acier inoxydables à durcissement structural (15-5PH) mais aussi en superalliages à base Nickel (Inconel 718). L’efficacité du procédé a été prouvée et les gains apportés par la technologie sont importants. D’un autre côté, la problématique de la détermination des champs résiduels en bord de trou reste un réel défi pour la communauté intéressée par l’expansion à froid. La considération cette fois-ci des métaux durs apporte un degré supplémentaire de nouveauté et d’inconnu. La méthodologie générale employée réside dans la considération d’études numériques et expérimentales afin d’étudier la réponse des métaux durs à l’expansion à froid. Des modèles éléments finis axisymétriques ont été développés en vue de simuler le procédé complet d’expansion à froid réalisée au sein d’alésages et d’empilages de divers métaux durs. Les résultats numériques fournis ont été mis en parallèle avec ceux issus de mesures expérimentales, telles que la méthode du trou incrémental. Le but étant ainsi d’obtenir les cartographies les plus fiables possibles des contraintes résiduelles triaxiales générées en bord de trou mais aussi de rechercher de stratégies d’optimisations du procédé / This thesis aims to contribute to the development of innovative processes for mechanical components made of hard metals (Titanium, steels and superalloys). In the aeronautical field, the design of ever more efficient and reliable structures remains a technical challenge. In mechanical assemblies, hole edges are the seats of high stress concentrations and are a major risk site for crack initiation. To fight against this damage, manufacturing technologies such as cold expansion are widespread for aluminium applications but not for hard metal. The objective of this study is to provide answers concerning the impact of the cold expansion on the fatigue performance of holes and understand the mechanisms of the process in these high performance alloys. In the present work, the methodology proposed is to carry out both experimental and numerical studies of the response of hard alloy holes subjected to cold expansion. An extensive experimental campaign has been set up. It includes several materials (Ti-6Al-4V αβ and β annealed, 15-5PH & Inconel 718) and aims to test many parameters. The process has proved very effective on the fatigue performance in these high performance alloys. On the other hand, the main technical and scientific challenge lies in determining the stress fields generated within the material after cold expansion, especially in hard metals, the behaviour of which can be diverse and complex. The numerical modelling strategy chosen has led to the development of polyvalent axisymmetric models that are dedicated to simulation of the split sleeve process. Experimental and numerical results were compared using various methodologies, such as the incremental hole drilling technique. Measurements have validated the finite element simulations, with the purpose of mapping the residual fields in the expanded metallic section and the proposal of optimisation techniques.