| 2026 №05 (08) |
DOI of Article 10.37434/as2026.05.09 |
2026 №05 (01) |
"Avtomatychne Zvaryuvannya" (Automatic Welding), #5, 2026, pp. 72-79
Microstructure and properties of cemented carbides (Review)
B.V. Stefaniv
, S.V. Maksymova
E.O. Paton Electric Welding Institute of the NAS of Ukraine
11 Kazymyr Malevych Str., 03150, Kyiv, Ukraine.
E-mail: stefanivbogdan61@gmail.com
Cemented carbides, also known as hard metals, cover a wide range of applications in many relevant industries, such as automotive and aerospace (as cutting tools for machining metal components), oil and mining (as components of drill bits or road cutters), or as wear dies (or dies), and elements of stamping tools. Cemented carbides and cermets are among the most widely used powder metallurgy products worldwide. The reason for this is their exceptional combination of hardness and toughness compared to other materials such as diamond or high-speed steel. By choosing the appropriate combination of solid phases, metal binder phase and processing parameters, a wide range of microstructures with different mechanical properties can be achieved. The review focuses on the analysis of microstructures of cemented carbides, both those already used in production and those that have attracted the attention of scientists due to new potential applications. 26 Ref., 6 Fig.
Keywords: cemented carbides, tungsten carbide, sintering, additive manufacturing, binding phase, wear resistance, microstructure, surfacing
Received: 14.07.2026
Received in revised form: 24.09.2026
Accepted: 30.09.2026
Posted online: 20.10.2026
References
1. Spriggs, G.E. (1995) A history of fine grained hardmetal. Int. J. Refract. Met. Hard Mater., 13(5), 241-255. https://doi.org/10.1016/0263-4368(95)92671-62. Upadhyaya, G.S. (2001) Materials science of cemented carbides - an overview. Mater. and Design, 22(6), 483-489. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0261-3069(01)00007-3
3. Ravotti, D.A.S., Correas, H.M., Luis, N.C. (2024) Last decade insights on cemented carbides: A review on alternative binders, new consolidation techniques and advanced characterization. Ecletica Quimica, 49, e-1529. https://doi.org/10.26850/1678-4618.eq.v49.2024.e1529
4. Exner, H.E. (1979) Physical and chemical nature of cemented carbides. Int. Mat. Rev., 24(1), 1149-1173. https://doi.org/10.1179/imtr.1979.24.1.149
5. Andren, H.-O. (2001) Microstructures of cemented carbides. Mater. and Design, 22(6), 491-498. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0261-3069(01)00006-1
6. Schubert, W.-D., Böhlke, W. (2010). Cemented carbides - A success story. ITIA Newsletter, June, 1-11. http://hdl. handle.net/20.500.12708/168107
7. Andren, H.-O., Rolander, U., Lindahl, P. (1993-1994) Phase composition in cemented carbides and cermets. Int. J. Refrac. Met. Hard Mater., 12, 107-113. https://doi.org/10.1016/0263-4368(93)90059-O
8. Weibin Qiu, Ying Liu, Jinwen Ye et al. (2016) Effects of (Ti,Ta,Nb,W)(C,N) on the microstructure, mechanical properties and corrosion behaviors of WC-Co cemented carbides. Ceramics Intern., 43(3), 2918-2926. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ceramint.2016.09.124
9. Wu, C.C., Chang, S.H., Tang, T.P., Peng, K.Y., Chang, W.C. (2016) Study on the properties of WC-10Co alloys adding Cr3C2 powder via various vacuum sintering temperatures. J. Alloy. Comp., 686, 810-815. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jallcom.2016.06.221
10. Gao, Y., Luo, B.H., He, K. et al. (2017) Mechanical properties and microstructure of WC-Fe-Ni-Co cemented carbides prepared by vacuum sintering. Vacuum, 143, 271-282. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vacuum.2017.06.028
11. Bao, R., Yi, J. (2014) Densification and alloying of microwave sintering WC-8 wt. % Co composites. Int. J. Refract. Met. Hard Mater., 43, 269-275. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijrmhm.2013.12.010
12. Rumman, R., Chuan, L.C., Quinton, J.S., Ghomashchi, R. (2019) Understanding the potential of microwave sintering on WC-Co. Int. J. Refract. Met. Hard Mater., 81, 7-14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijrmhm.2019.02.007
13. Lin, H., Sun, J., Li, C. et al. (2016) A facile route to synthesize WC-Co nanocomposite powders and properties of sintered bulk. J. Alloy. Comp., 682, 531-536. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jallcom.2016.03.285
14. Yang, Q., Yang, J., Yang, H., Ni, G., Ruan, J. (2017) Synthesis of ultrafine WC-10Co composite powders with carbon boat added and densification by sinter-HIP. Int. J. Ref. Met. Hard Mater., 62(B), 104-109. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijrmhm.2016.06.018
15. Wei, C.B., Song, X.Y., Fu, J. et al. (2012) Microstructure and properties of ultrafine cemented carbides differences in spark plasma sintering and sinter-HIP. Mater. Sci. Eng.: A., 552, 427-433. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.msea.2012.05.065
16. Engel, U., Hübner, H. (1978) Strength improvement of cemented carbides by hot isostatic pressing (HIP). J. Mater. Sci., 13, 2003-2012. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00552908
17. Sivaprahasam, D., Chandrasekar, S.B., Sundaresan, R. (2007) Microstructure and mechanical properties of nanocrystalline WC-12Co consolidated by spark plasma sintering. Int. J. Ref. Met. Hard Mater., 25(2), 144-152. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijrmhm.2006.03.008
18. Rumman, M.R., Xie, Z., Hong, S.J., Ghomashchi, R. (2015) Effect of spark plasma sintering pressure on mechanical properties of WC-7.5 wt % Nano Co. Mater. Des., 68, 221-227. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matdes.2014.12.023
19. Espinoza, F.R.M, Galio, A.F., Schaeffer, L. (2003) Production of carbides cemented by mechanical alloying. Mater. Sci. Forum, 416-418, 134-137. https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/MSF.416-418.134
20. Tianbin Zhu, Jie Zhang, Di An et al. (2019) Oscillatory pressure sintering: A new method for preparing WC-Co cemented carbides. J. of Alloys and Compounds, 816, 152521. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jallcom.2019.152521
21. Uhlmann, E., Bergmann, A., Gridin, W. (2015) Investigation on additive manufacturing of tungsten carbide-cobalt by selective laser melting. Proc. CIRP, 35, 8-15. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procir.2015.08.060
22. Papy, K., Staerk, J.-M., Sova, A., Borbely, A. (2022) Additive manufacturing feasibility of WC-17Co cermet parts by laserpowder bed fusion. Proc. CIRP, 111, 153-157. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procir.2022.08.049
23. Cai Chen, Boyun Huang, Zuming Liu et al. (2023) Additive manufacturing of WC-Co cemented carbides: Process, microstructure, and mechanical properties. Additive Manuf., 63, 103410. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addma.2023.103410
24. García, J., Ciprés, V.C., Blomqvist, A., Kaplan, B. (2019) Cemented carbide microstructures: A review. Int. J. Refract. Met. Hard Mater., 80, 40-68. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijrmhm.2018.12.004
25. Wittmann, B., Schubert, W.-D., Lux, B. (2002) WC grain growth and grain growth inhibition in nickel and iron binder hardmetals. Int. J. Refract. Met. Hard Mater., 20(1), 51-60. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0263-4368(01)00070-1
26. Roulon, Z., Missiaen, J.M., Lay, S. (2020) Carbide grain growth in cemented carbides sintered with alternative binders. Int. J. Refract. Met. Hard Mater., 86, 105088. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijrmhm.2019.105088
This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial 4.0 International (CC-BY-NC).
Suggested Citation
B.V. Stefaniv, S.V. Maksymova (2026) Microstructure and properties of cemented carbides (Review). Automatic Welding, 05, 72-79. https://doi.org/10.37434/as2026.05.09Advertising in this issue:
