Computational Design for the Efficient Sintering of Alternate Binders for WC Hardmetals

Interest in the field of alternate binders for tungsten carbide (WC) hardmetals has increased due to the health implications surrounding the use of cobalt as a binder material. Here, an Integrated Computational Materials Engineering (ICME) approach was used to search for alternate binder compositions using a reduced order model. The model was derived by combining the densification mechanisms present in cobalt containing compacts with the rate enhancing factors governing early onset densification. The model incorporates thermodynamic and kinetic components coupled to a multi-objective genetic algorithm. It allows alloys with compositions optimized for sintering to be ranked against those optimized for mechanical properties to form a Pareto set. By incorporating the sinterability and mechanical properties of the system simultaneously, alternatives that are manufacturable using existing procedures can be determined.