Student Number : 0109917P - PhD thesis - School of Process and Materials Engineering - Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment / The aim of this project was to characterise new WC-10VC-Co powders, and to deposit WC-10VC-Co thermal spray coatings from these powders for characterisation and testing in adhesion, wear and corrosion tests. Throughout the project, the new powders and coatings were compared to commercial WC-Co powders of the same binder content and commercial WC-Co thermal spray coatings. All the powders i.e WC-10VC-Co and WC-Co powders, were produced by agglomeration (by spray drying) and sintering and characaterised by determining the sizes and size distributions of the powders' particles, the morphology, the flowability and the phase composition and grain size and size distribution of carbide grains. The vanadium carbide in the WC-10VC-Co powders occurred in the solution as the double carbide (V,W)C and the carbides present in the WC-10VC-Co powders were WC and (V,W)C. None of the starting VC was left in the powders. Coatings were deposited using high pressure high velocity oxy-fuel (HP/HVOF) spraying systems, and characterized by determining the microstructures, the phase compositions and the carbide grain sizes, as had been done for the powders. Three types of tests were done on the coatings: adhesion tests, (according to standard SNECMA 14 -008); dry abrasion, wet abrasion and slurry erosion tests; and corrosion tests, in synthetic mione water. Thermal spraying lead to some WC decarburization to W2C and eta phase, and to the formation of amorphous binder. The W2C grains from the WC decarburization formed in the amorphous binder matrix of coatings. All the coatinge were porous, but the new WC-10VC-Co coatings were more porous than the commercial Wc-Co coatings because the spray parameters had only been optimized for the WC-Co coatings. The carbide grains decreased in size by as much as 50% during decomposition. Evidence suggested that the WC grains in the coatings were subjected to different residual stresses that in the powders, probably due to the formation of the amorphous binder. Vanadium carbide in the Wc-10VC-Co coatings occurred as (V,W)C, just as in the powders, with as distribution that was reasonably homogeneous. The apparent hardness of the new Wc-10VC-Co coatings was slightly lower than that of WC-Co coatings of the same cobalt content, due to their higher porosity. The adhesion of the new Wc-10VC-Co coatings was as good as that of the Wc-Co coatings. The dry and wet abrasion resistance of the new Wc-10VC-Co coatings was better that for the Wc-Co coatings of equal Co wt%, on account of the Wc-10VC-Co coatings having a lower binder volume fraction, finer carbide grains, and (V,W)C grains. The (V,W)C grains are harder than WC grains and apparently slowed down the overall abrasion rate. In slurry erosion, the best performance of the Wc-10VC-Co coatings was as good as that of the commercial WC-Co coatings at equal cobalt mass content, due to the higher porosity of the Wc-10VC-Co coatings, apparent faster erosion of the harder but brittle (V,W)C grains, and, from what evidence appreared to suggest, generally slightly poorer erosion resistance of the fine WC grains under the test conditions used. Polishing the slurry erosion test specimens reduced mass losses in slurry erosion by factor of up to 10 compared to the unpolished specimens, and led to better erosion resistance of the WC-10VC-Co coating compared to the WC-12Co coating. The results of the tests done to investigate the corrosion properties of the coatings were conclusive. This is because the effects of cleaning procedures on mass loss after immersion corrosion were not explored, and it appeared, for some coatings, that the corrosion mechanisms in immersion corrosion could not be reproduced in electrochemical testing.

The present work was performed at AB Sandvik Coromant as a part in improving the knowledge and understanding about wear of uncoated WC/Co cutting tools during turning of titanium alloy Ti-6Al-4V. When machining titanium alloys, or any other material, wear of the cutting tools has a huge impact on the ability to shape the material as well as the manufacturing cost of the finished product. Due to the low thermal conductivity of titanium, high cutting temperatures will occur in narrow regions near the cutting edge during machining. This will result in high reaction and diffusion rates, resulting in high cutting tool wear rates. To be able to improve titanium machining, better knowledge and understanding about wear during these tough conditions are needed. Wear tests were performed during orthogonal turning of titanium alloy and the cutting tool inserts were analysed by SEM, EDS and optical imaging in Alicona InfiniteFocus. Simulations in AdvantEdge provided calculated values for cutting temperatures, cutting forces and contact stresses for the same conditions as used during wear tests. It was found that turning titanium alloy with WC/Co cutting tools at cutting speeds 30-60 m/min causes chamfering of the cutting tool edge and adhesion of a build-up layer (BUL) of workpiece material on top of the rake face wear land. The wear rate for these low cutting speeds was found to be almost unchanging during cutting times up to 3 minutes. During cutting speeds of 90-115 m/min, crater wear was found to be the dominating wear mechanism and the wear rate was found to have a linear dependence of cutting speed. An Arrhenius-type temperature dependent wear mechanism was found for high cutting speeds, between 90 and 115 m/min.

This paper aims to create a hard modification layer of WC/Co/Fe on the surface of SKD11 work steel by using a new closed-type method of surface electrical discharge coating with the self-made tool electrode and CNC electrical discharge machine. The tool electrode is the composition of a semi-sintered powder compacted electrode and a cooper rod. The sintered powder compacted electrode making process is first to mix the WC/Co and Fe powders uniformly at 8:1, 4:1, 2:1 and 1:1 in weight ratio. Continually, it will form the cylinder of 8mm in diameter and 18mm in length approximately by compacting in different pressure (50~200 MPa) and sintering temperature (300~900 ¢J). The EDM condition is 1~12A discharge current, 25~500£gs pulse time, and 50% duty factor. The electrical discharge machining is proceeding in kerosene with tool electrode as cathode and workpiece as anode. The result is as following. It can be concluded that the best condition to fabricate the sintered powder compacted electrode is 1:1 in weight ratio between WC/Co and Fe powders; with 200Mpa compacting pressure and sintering temperature at 900¢J, which results in lowest electrical resistivity. Under such condition, the area covered ratio can reach 100% at best EDM condition, which is pulse time £non = 50 £gs, rest time £noff = 50 £gs, 8A in current and 1.5 min in machining time. The surface hardness of workpiece increases with machining time. The surface hardness dramatically increases to Hv1500 as machining time over 1.5 min. The hardness of modification layer equals to the WC/Co particle itself which brings to the best wear ability. Moreover, the hardness of under surface in between 48 £gm is much higher than it of the SKD11 work steel. The hardness in between 30 £gm can reach up to Hv1200 in particular. The hardness of surface modification layer increases linearly with machining time. However, the limit of surface modification layer is about 30 £gm, and the needed time is below 5 min.

In this thesis, a systematic study has been carried out on the synthesis, characterization and applications of microcrystalline diamond (MCD) and nanocrystalline diamond (NCD) thin films deposited by the chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method. Firstly, an overview of diamond films synthesized from carbon-containing gas plasmas is presented. A parameter study was performed to grow diamond thin films. The transition from micro- to nanocrystallinity of diamond grains was achieved by controlling the Ar/Hydrogen gas ratio. The nanocrystallinity is the result of a new growth mechanism which involves the insertion of carbon dimmer into carbon-carbon and carbon-hydrogen bonds. Secondly, characterization of diamond films has been carried out by different techniques including electron microscopy, near edge X-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS), nanoindentation, and Raman spectroscopy. Unique properties of NCD, compared to those of MCD grown by conventional hydrogen rich plasma, have been observed and investigated. Thirdly, various applications of diamond films are discussed: a). Well-adhered MCD coatings have been deposited on WC-Co substrates with proper surface pretreatment. A diffusion barrier Cr/CrN/Cr was deposited on the cemented carbide substrate and the substrate was short peened with 150 micron friable diamond powders to achieve higher nucleation density and stronger adhesion strength; b). A nitrogen doped NCD based biosensor was fabricated for glucose sensing. Carboxyl functional group and conducting polymer (polyaniline) have been utilized respectively to electrochemically functionalize the diamond surface. A linear response to glucose concentration has been obtained from the electrode with good sensitivity and stability; c). A novel approach to synthesize NCD wires has been developed for the first time. The NCD coating was successfully coated on Si nanowires (SiNWs) to form NCD wire with diameter around a few microns. This study opens a whole new area for applications based on diamond wires such as neural transmission electrodes, field emission emitters, and electrochemical electrodes with improved properties

O presente trabalho tem como objetivo o estudo das propriedades mecânicas do metal duro nas composições WC-6Co, WC-10Co, WC-20Co, WC-6Co-6Ni, WC-6Co-12Ni, obtidos por metalurgia do pó convencional para aplicação em anéis de selos mecânicos. Estes compósitos foram obtidos a partir de uma composição comercial de WC-6Co, e adicionado cobalto e níquel para realização do balanço de massa. Determinou-se um procedimento de obtenção das composições, através de cálculos de balanceamento adicionando-se a quantidade de cobalto e níquel necessária para transformar um compósito comercial 94WC-6Co nos metais duros mencionados. Após este procedimento adicionou-se 1,5% de lubrificante, em um misturador em “Y”. Analisou-se no Microscópio eletrônico de varredura a homogeneidade das composições. Determinou-se a densidade aparente, a curva de compressibilidade e compactaram-se as amostras de metal duro obtendo-se as densidades a verde. Realizou-se a pré-sinterização e determinaram-se as densidades das peças présinterizadas, executou-se ensaio de compressão e obtiveram-se parâmetros de usinagem na operação de faceamento e furação dos corpos de prova pré-sinterizados. A sinterização foi realizada em diversas vezes, nos dois fornos resistivos e em três atmosferas de controle diferentes. Determinaram-se curvas rápidas de sinterização e utilizou as temperaturas de 1360, 1400, 1420, e 1450ºC para as várias composições de metal duro. Para analisar-se a eficiência da mistura foi realizado ensaio de densidade das amostras sinterizadas, dureza, microdureza, metalografia, micrografia, EDS, contração linear e contração volumétrica e compressão. Após a caracterização dos materiais foi projetado e fabricado um ferramental de compactação. Compactou-se, sinterizou-se e retificou-se um anel de selo mecânico. / The aim of this work is to characterize to study the mechanical properties of carbide in the composition WC-6Co, WC-10Co, WC-20Co, WC-6Co-6Ni, WC-6Co-12Ni obtained by conventional powder metallurgy for application to rings of mechanical seals. These composites were obtained from a commercial composition of WC-6Co, and added cobalt and nickel to perform the mass balance. It was determined a procedure for obtaining the compositions, by calculation of balancing resulting in the amount of cobalt and nickel needed to transform a composite commercial 94WC-6Co in hard metals mentioned. After this procedure was added to 1.5% of lubricant, in a blender "Y". Analyzed in a scanning electron microscope the homogeneity of the compositions. It was determined the density, the compressibility curve and compress the samples carbide yielding green densities. We calculated the pre-sintering and determined the densities of pre-sintered parts, performed in compression test and it was obtained machining parameters in milling operation and drilling of the specimens pre-sintered. The sintering was performed at various times in the two resistive furnaces and atmospheres in three different control. Were determined fast corners and used sintering temperatures of 1360, 1400, 1420, and 1450 º C for various compositions of carbide. To analyze the efficiency of mixing was performed to test the samples sintered density, hardness, hardness, metallography, electron micrograph, EDS, linear and volumetric shrinkage and compression. After the characterization of materials was designed and manufactured tools of compaction, compacted, sintered and ground a ring of mechanical seal.

O presente trabalho tem como objetivo o estudo das propriedades mecânicas do metal duro nas composições WC-6Co, WC-10Co, WC-20Co, WC-6Co-6Ni, WC-6Co-12Ni, obtidos por metalurgia do pó convencional para aplicação em anéis de selos mecânicos. Estes compósitos foram obtidos a partir de uma composição comercial de WC-6Co, e adicionado cobalto e níquel para realização do balanço de massa. Determinou-se um procedimento de obtenção das composições, através de cálculos de balanceamento adicionando-se a quantidade de cobalto e níquel necessária para transformar um compósito comercial 94WC-6Co nos metais duros mencionados. Após este procedimento adicionou-se 1,5% de lubrificante, em um misturador em “Y”. Analisou-se no Microscópio eletrônico de varredura a homogeneidade das composições. Determinou-se a densidade aparente, a curva de compressibilidade e compactaram-se as amostras de metal duro obtendo-se as densidades a verde. Realizou-se a pré-sinterização e determinaram-se as densidades das peças présinterizadas, executou-se ensaio de compressão e obtiveram-se parâmetros de usinagem na operação de faceamento e furação dos corpos de prova pré-sinterizados. A sinterização foi realizada em diversas vezes, nos dois fornos resistivos e em três atmosferas de controle diferentes. Determinaram-se curvas rápidas de sinterização e utilizou as temperaturas de 1360, 1400, 1420, e 1450ºC para as várias composições de metal duro. Para analisar-se a eficiência da mistura foi realizado ensaio de densidade das amostras sinterizadas, dureza, microdureza, metalografia, micrografia, EDS, contração linear e contração volumétrica e compressão. Após a caracterização dos materiais foi projetado e fabricado um ferramental de compactação. Compactou-se, sinterizou-se e retificou-se um anel de selo mecânico. / The aim of this work is to characterize to study the mechanical properties of carbide in the composition WC-6Co, WC-10Co, WC-20Co, WC-6Co-6Ni, WC-6Co-12Ni obtained by conventional powder metallurgy for application to rings of mechanical seals. These composites were obtained from a commercial composition of WC-6Co, and added cobalt and nickel to perform the mass balance. It was determined a procedure for obtaining the compositions, by calculation of balancing resulting in the amount of cobalt and nickel needed to transform a composite commercial 94WC-6Co in hard metals mentioned. After this procedure was added to 1.5% of lubricant, in a blender "Y". Analyzed in a scanning electron microscope the homogeneity of the compositions. It was determined the density, the compressibility curve and compress the samples carbide yielding green densities. We calculated the pre-sintering and determined the densities of pre-sintered parts, performed in compression test and it was obtained machining parameters in milling operation and drilling of the specimens pre-sintered. The sintering was performed at various times in the two resistive furnaces and atmospheres in three different control. Were determined fast corners and used sintering temperatures of 1360, 1400, 1420, and 1450 º C for various compositions of carbide. To analyze the efficiency of mixing was performed to test the samples sintered density, hardness, hardness, metallography, electron micrograph, EDS, linear and volumetric shrinkage and compression. After the characterization of materials was designed and manufactured tools of compaction, compacted, sintered and ground a ring of mechanical seal.

O presente trabalho tem como objetivo o estudo das propriedades mecânicas do metal duro nas composições WC-6Co, WC-10Co, WC-20Co, WC-6Co-6Ni, WC-6Co-12Ni, obtidos por metalurgia do pó convencional para aplicação em anéis de selos mecânicos. Estes compósitos foram obtidos a partir de uma composição comercial de WC-6Co, e adicionado cobalto e níquel para realização do balanço de massa. Determinou-se um procedimento de obtenção das composições, através de cálculos de balanceamento adicionando-se a quantidade de cobalto e níquel necessária para transformar um compósito comercial 94WC-6Co nos metais duros mencionados. Após este procedimento adicionou-se 1,5% de lubrificante, em um misturador em “Y”. Analisou-se no Microscópio eletrônico de varredura a homogeneidade das composições. Determinou-se a densidade aparente, a curva de compressibilidade e compactaram-se as amostras de metal duro obtendo-se as densidades a verde. Realizou-se a pré-sinterização e determinaram-se as densidades das peças présinterizadas, executou-se ensaio de compressão e obtiveram-se parâmetros de usinagem na operação de faceamento e furação dos corpos de prova pré-sinterizados. A sinterização foi realizada em diversas vezes, nos dois fornos resistivos e em três atmosferas de controle diferentes. Determinaram-se curvas rápidas de sinterização e utilizou as temperaturas de 1360, 1400, 1420, e 1450ºC para as várias composições de metal duro. Para analisar-se a eficiência da mistura foi realizado ensaio de densidade das amostras sinterizadas, dureza, microdureza, metalografia, micrografia, EDS, contração linear e contração volumétrica e compressão. Após a caracterização dos materiais foi projetado e fabricado um ferramental de compactação. Compactou-se, sinterizou-se e retificou-se um anel de selo mecânico. / The aim of this work is to characterize to study the mechanical properties of carbide in the composition WC-6Co, WC-10Co, WC-20Co, WC-6Co-6Ni, WC-6Co-12Ni obtained by conventional powder metallurgy for application to rings of mechanical seals. These composites were obtained from a commercial composition of WC-6Co, and added cobalt and nickel to perform the mass balance. It was determined a procedure for obtaining the compositions, by calculation of balancing resulting in the amount of cobalt and nickel needed to transform a composite commercial 94WC-6Co in hard metals mentioned. After this procedure was added to 1.5% of lubricant, in a blender "Y". Analyzed in a scanning electron microscope the homogeneity of the compositions. It was determined the density, the compressibility curve and compress the samples carbide yielding green densities. We calculated the pre-sintering and determined the densities of pre-sintered parts, performed in compression test and it was obtained machining parameters in milling operation and drilling of the specimens pre-sintered. The sintering was performed at various times in the two resistive furnaces and atmospheres in three different control. Were determined fast corners and used sintering temperatures of 1360, 1400, 1420, and 1450 º C for various compositions of carbide. To analyze the efficiency of mixing was performed to test the samples sintered density, hardness, hardness, metallography, electron micrograph, EDS, linear and volumetric shrinkage and compression. After the characterization of materials was designed and manufactured tools of compaction, compacted, sintered and ground a ring of mechanical seal.

High performance cutting tools are essential in many industry areas. Cemented carbides (WC-Co) are common materials used for these applications due to the excellent mechanical properties. The mechanical properties of the material are manly dependent on the WC grain size distribution.To be able to tailor the material properties it is important to be able to characterize and control the WC grain size.In this study a quantitative method for WC grain size distribution measurements has been developed using the automated electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) technique. The EBSD system was optimized for a fast and accurate measurement. Using the method approximately 2000-3000 WC grains can be measured in approximately 25 minutes. This will give reliable statistics and information about the material.The method was used to compare materials produced with three different milling methods; traditional 30l ball mill, method A and B. Two WC raw materials with different initial particle sizes, one coarser and one finer, was milled aiming for similar grain sizes in the sintered structure. The results showed some tendency for a larger fraction of large grains in the materials produced using the ball mill compared to the materials produced with method A and B. The difference between the milling methods was larger using a raw material with a coarser initial particle size.The developed quantitative method was successfully used to compare grain size distributions of different materials in a fast and quantitative way. The differences between the materials were small and materials with similar grain size distribution and mechanical properties could be produced using both the traditional ball mill method and method A and B.

<p>Cemented carbides (WC-Co) are powder metallurgical products produced by liquid phase sintering. WC-Co is widely used for making a large variety of cutting tools, such as drills and inserts turning applications, due to its great mechanical properties, where the hardness of the WC grains is combined with the toughness of the of the Co binder. WC grain size and grain size distribution are the two most important factors to control the mechanical properties of the products.</p><p>This study examined the grain growth dependence of different milling and sintering times. The resulting grain size and grain size distribution were measured using image analysis on scanning electron microscopy images (SEM) and by using electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD). In addition, the correlation between hardness and coercivity, the most common indirect measures of grain size, and different methods of calculating average grain radius were investigated. An attempt was also made to study the contribution of defects to grain growth. This work also includes an overview of various grain growth equations and a numerical implementation of these.</p><p>Experimental results show that for shorter sintering times, powders milled for short times (15 min and 1 h) have larger average grain radii. There is a crossover after 6 to 8 h of sintering, where the powders milled for a long time (40 h and 200 h), have larger average radii. The measured hardness values correlate well with the average grain radius calculated from the grain surface area and the coercivity correlates with the established equations. EBSD measurements detected boundaries that could not be detected by image analysis, and that were not Sigma 2 boundaries. It is likely that these boundaries are either low energy boundaries or boundaries between grains that are very closely oriented. Comparing heat-treated powder with the untreated resulted in a lower average grain size after sintering for the heat-treated powder. None of the growth equations investigated in this work could fully describe the experimental grain growth.</p><p>Through increased understanding of the grain growth, the growth can be controlled and the end product can have the desired tool properties. The occurrence of abnormal grains in cutting tool applications can cause breakage, which is especially important to avoid in applications such as PCB drills. A correlation between hardness and grain size provides further means for cheap and fast indirect measures of the grain size in production.</p> / <p>Hårdmetall är ett pulvermetallurgiskt material som tillverkas genom smältfassintring och som kännetecknas av hårdhet, styvhet och god slitstyrka. Volframkarbidens (WC) kornstorlek och kornstorleksfördelning är två viktiga faktorer för att kontrollera de mekaniska egenskaperna i hårdmetall.</p><p>I den här studien har korntillväxtens beroende på malning och sintring undersökts. WC-Co maldes och sintrades fyra olika tider och kornstorleksfördelningen mättes med bildanalys på svepelektronmikroskopbilder samt med ``electron backscatter diffraction'' (EBSD). I arbetet har även korrelationen mellan hårdhet, koercivitet och olika sätt att beräkna medelkornstorleken undersökts. Ett försök har också genomförts för att studera hur defekterna i det malda pulvret påverkar korntillväxten. I arbetet har även ett flertal olika tillväxtekvationer modellerats numeriskt och för och nackdelar med de olika tillväxtekvationerna har vägts mot varandra.</p><p>En lång maltid (40 h och 200 h) visade sig ge liten kornstorlek för sintring kortare än 6 h, men för sintringar längre än 8 h gav istället kort malning (15 min och 1 h) den mindre kornstorleken. Det visade sig att uppmätt hårdhet korrelerar bäst med den medelkornstorleksradie som räknats fram från kornytan. I EBSD mätningarna kunde man observera ett flertal korngränser, utöver Sigma 2 korngränser, som inte hade detekterats med bildanalys. Värmebehandlingen av det malda pulvret minskade korntillväxten under efterföljande sintring. Ingen av de undersökta tillväxtekvationerna kunde beskriva de experimentella resultaten fullt ut.</p><p>Genom ökad förståelse för korntillväxt kan man kontrollera tillväxten och slutprodukten kan få önskade egenskaper. Förekomsten av abnorm korntillväxt i skärverktyg i hårdmetall är en av de vanligaste kritiska defekterna och det är speciellt viktigt är undvika korntillväxt i tillverkning av små verktyg, som till exempel kretskortsborrar. Hårdhet och koercivitet är de vanligaste indirekta mätmetoderna för att mäta kornstorlek i produktion. En bra korrelation mellan kornstorlek och indirekta mätmetoder ger utökade verktyg för snabba och billiga mätningar.</p>

Cemented carbides (WC-Co) are powder metallurgical products produced by liquid phase sintering. WC-Co is widely used for making a large variety of cutting tools, such as drills and inserts turning applications, due to its great mechanical properties, where the hardness of the WC grains is combined with the toughness of the of the Co binder. WC grain size and grain size distribution are the two most important factors to control the mechanical properties of the products. This study examined the grain growth dependence of different milling and sintering times. The resulting grain size and grain size distribution were measured using image analysis on scanning electron microscopy images (SEM) and by using electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD). In addition, the correlation between hardness and coercivity, the most common indirect measures of grain size, and different methods of calculating average grain radius were investigated. An attempt was also made to study the contribution of defects to grain growth. This work also includes an overview of various grain growth equations and a numerical implementation of these. Experimental results show that for shorter sintering times, powders milled for short times (15 min and 1 h) have larger average grain radii. There is a crossover after 6 to 8 h of sintering, where the powders milled for a long time (40 h and 200 h), have larger average radii. The measured hardness values correlate well with the average grain radius calculated from the grain surface area and the coercivity correlates with the established equations. EBSD measurements detected boundaries that could not be detected by image analysis, and that were not Sigma 2 boundaries. It is likely that these boundaries are either low energy boundaries or boundaries between grains that are very closely oriented. Comparing heat-treated powder with the untreated resulted in a lower average grain size after sintering for the heat-treated powder. None of the growth equations investigated in this work could fully describe the experimental grain growth. Through increased understanding of the grain growth, the growth can be controlled and the end product can have the desired tool properties. The occurrence of abnormal grains in cutting tool applications can cause breakage, which is especially important to avoid in applications such as PCB drills. A correlation between hardness and grain size provides further means for cheap and fast indirect measures of the grain size in production. / Hårdmetall är ett pulvermetallurgiskt material som tillverkas genom smältfassintring och som kännetecknas av hårdhet, styvhet och god slitstyrka. Volframkarbidens (WC) kornstorlek och kornstorleksfördelning är två viktiga faktorer för att kontrollera de mekaniska egenskaperna i hårdmetall. I den här studien har korntillväxtens beroende på malning och sintring undersökts. WC-Co maldes och sintrades fyra olika tider och kornstorleksfördelningen mättes med bildanalys på svepelektronmikroskopbilder samt med ``electron backscatter diffraction'' (EBSD). I arbetet har även korrelationen mellan hårdhet, koercivitet och olika sätt att beräkna medelkornstorleken undersökts. Ett försök har också genomförts för att studera hur defekterna i det malda pulvret påverkar korntillväxten. I arbetet har även ett flertal olika tillväxtekvationer modellerats numeriskt och för och nackdelar med de olika tillväxtekvationerna har vägts mot varandra. En lång maltid (40 h och 200 h) visade sig ge liten kornstorlek för sintring kortare än 6 h, men för sintringar längre än 8 h gav istället kort malning (15 min och 1 h) den mindre kornstorleken. Det visade sig att uppmätt hårdhet korrelerar bäst med den medelkornstorleksradie som räknats fram från kornytan. I EBSD mätningarna kunde man observera ett flertal korngränser, utöver Sigma 2 korngränser, som inte hade detekterats med bildanalys. Värmebehandlingen av det malda pulvret minskade korntillväxten under efterföljande sintring. Ingen av de undersökta tillväxtekvationerna kunde beskriva de experimentella resultaten fullt ut. Genom ökad förståelse för korntillväxt kan man kontrollera tillväxten och slutprodukten kan få önskade egenskaper. Förekomsten av abnorm korntillväxt i skärverktyg i hårdmetall är en av de vanligaste kritiska defekterna och det är speciellt viktigt är undvika korntillväxt i tillverkning av små verktyg, som till exempel kretskortsborrar. Hårdhet och koercivitet är de vanligaste indirekta mätmetoderna för att mäta kornstorlek i produktion. En bra korrelation mellan kornstorlek och indirekta mätmetoder ger utökade verktyg för snabba och billiga mätningar.