JOURNAL OF HARD MATERIALS, VOL. 1, NO.

3, 1990

147

Fracture Toughness Evaluation of WC-Co Alloys by Indentation Testing

ROLAND

SPIEGLER,

SIEGFRIED

SCHMADDER

& LORENZ

S. SIGL

ABSTRACT Indentation models for determining the fracture toughness of brittle solids are compared with respect to their applicability to WC-Co cermets. An approach due to Shetty is considered to be most suitable. This model is applied to 10 WC-Co alloys covering the range of commercial hard metals. The trends in toughness are in accordance with known dependences on cobalt volume fraction and carbide grain size. The results agree favourably with fracture toughness data obtained from single-edge-notched-beam specimens with maximum deviations being less than 20%. Thus indentation analysis using Shetty's formula appears to be a fast and reasonably accurate way of toughness evaluation for WC-based hard metals.

1. INTRODUCTION
Cemented carbides are a group of sintered materials where a hard transition metal carbide of the B subgroups IV-VI is bonded by a tough metal binder of the B subgroup VIII. Thus they combine appreciable hardness with good fracture resistance. While many cermet components rely primarily on the material's hardness, a number of application-relevant properties, such as strength and wear resistance, strongly depend on the crack resistance. Hence easy access to the fracture toughness is desirable for alloy development and quality control. While the measurement of other interesting properties such as microstructural parameters, Young's modulus, hardness or bending strength has become a routine matter, conventional toughness testing requires considerable effort, in particular precracking of specimens has remained a serious obstacle. Consequendy, alternative methods fr evaluating the fracture toughness from indentation data have been sought. An important method is the indentation test which, during the last few years, has emerged as a potential alternative to conventional fracture toughness measurements. Its prime advantages are that no special sampie geometry, large amount of specimen material nor sophisticated measurement techniques are needed. To date, however, the accuracy and reliability of conventional techniques appears unmatched, though much progress has been made in establishing a sound basis for the indentation method by linking fracture mechanics with indentation cracking.
R. Spiegier, Max-Planck-Institut fr Metallforschung, Institut fr Werkstoffwissenschaft, Seestrae 92, D-7000 Stuttgart 1, FRG; S. Schmauder is presently on leave at University of California, Materials Department, College of Engineering, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA; L. S. Sigl, Elektroschmelzwerk Kempten GmbH, D-8960 Kempten, FRG.

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Using the length of cracks, which emanate from the corners of Vickers hardness indentations (see Figure 1), to characterize the toughness of brittle solids goes back to the pioneering work of Palmqvist [1, 2]. A linear relation between the indentation load, P, and the sum of lengths of the four cracks at the corners of the indentation, L, was found. The slope of the line, P / L, was defined as the crack resistance, W, and is nowadays referred to as the Palmqvist toughness following a suggestion of Exner [3]. Considerable effort has been devoted to the development of relations which link indentation parameters (such as W) to the fracture toughness KIc' Not surprisingly a simple linear relation between the Palmqvist toughness, W, and the fracture toughness, Klc, is not found [4]. A major goal pursued during recent years has been to deve10p fracture mechanics concepts which allow the calculation of fracture toughness from indentation data. For a review of the variety of different models the reader is referred to the comparative studies of Ponton & Rawlings [5, 6].

Figure 1. Pa1mqvist cracks at the corners of a Vickers indentation

(500 N, alloy 6F/M).

Indentation toughness based on median crack models can deviate from conventional four-point bending toughness values by up to 30% in single phase ceramics and glasses (e.g. Shaobo et al. [7] and Smith et al. [8]). Arecent analysis on AI203-SiC [9] also indicated that such materials need a significant calibration of toughness obtained from indentation experiments. The present work compares available models for measuring the fracture toughness by indentation testing and aims at finding the most suitable approach for cemented carbides. This is attempted by comparing the indentation results with toughness values from single-edge-notched-beam specimens which are known to be very accurate.

2. CRACK MODELS
There are essentially three distinct modes of indentation fracture in brittle solids [10]. Hertzian cone cracks occur by contact of a curved indenter to the sampie surface.

FRACTURE TOUGHNESS EVALUATION OF WC-Co ALLOYS

149

Median vents or lateral vents can form by contact with a sharp indenter. Median vents are cracks which nueleate at the tip of the indenter and propagate into the underlying material. Two types of median vents are distinguished: Palmqvist cracks and median cracks (for the definition of the crack type see Figure 2). Lateral vents are cracks which propagate at a small angle to the surface and sometimes cause macroscopic chipping around the indentation. They extend with a positive crack opening displacement on unloading the indenter and tend to elose slightly on reloading. Materials which are very brittle, e.g. glasses, tend to form lateral vents, whereas materials exhibiting some plasticity tend to form median vents. In cemented carbides the formation of lateral vents is restricted to cyelic loading, especially for hard grades [10], or stress corrosion cracking in aggressive atmospheres [11]. Under normal circumstances only median vents are formed in WC-Co alloys.

Palmqvist Cracks

Median

Cracks

Figure 2. Crack geometries of Palmqvist and median cracks. As both Palmqvist and median crack types are idealized and differ more or less from the actual crack shape in cemented carbides, models based on both crack types will be taken into consideration.

2.1 Median Crack Models Initial fracture mechanics concepts were based on the assumption of halfpenny-shaped cracks. Measurements of the indentation half diagonal a, median crack length c (measured as crack trace on the specimen surface), indentation load P, hardness Hand Young's modulus E were correlated with the KIc value. From dimensional considerations, Lawn & Fuller [12] deduced that the ratio P/C3/2 should be constant. Based on their work, Evans & Charles [13] derived a widely applicable but still semi-empirical formula for the toughness on the basis of dimensional analysis and empirical curve fitting:

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The validity of this relation is restricted to cases with cl a> 3. Evans & Charles [13] claimed that this characterization should enable fracture toughness data to be obtained by indentation to within an accuracy of 30%. Their expression was later expanded by a non-dimensional factor (EIH)n [14], which takes effects of the residual stresses beneath the hardness indentation into account. Lawn et al. [15], who explicitly resolved the complex elastic-plastic stress field beneath the indentation into a reversible elastic stress field component and an irreversible residual stress field component, derived the following equation:
KIc =0.028Hal/2(EI H)l/2(cI a)-3/2

The plastic zone size was incorporated in their model by using Hill's expanding cavity model. They showed that the elastic component, being reversible, assumes a secondary role in the fracture process: although it does enhance downward (median) extension during the loading half cycle, it suppresses surface (radial) extension to the extent that significant growth continues during unloading. The residual component accordingly provides the primary driving force for the crack configuration in the final stages of evolution, where the crack tends to the half-penny geometry. Niihara et al. [16] split up the loading range into two regimes, where Palmqvist and median cracks, respectively, are formed. The transition point was found by fitting published data. For cl a> 2.5 median cracks should form, following the relation:
KIc =0.0309(EI H)215(P I c3/2)

The work of Anstis et al. [17] is based on the results of Lawn et al. [15]. By empirical fitting of fracture toughness data of a variety of ceramics they calibrated the scaling factor and obtained

Laugier [18] used an analytical approximation of the relative plastic zone size for input into Hill's expanding cavity model and obtained a non-dimensional factor (EI H)213 instead of (EIH)l/2, which was introduced by Lawn et al. [15]. Laugier [18] showed that (EI H)213 gave the better fitting to experimental data. His formula has the form
KIc =O.OlO(EI H)2/3(PI c3/2)

2.2 Palmqvist

Crack Models

In the case of Palmqvist cracks the mean value of the individual crack lengths, I, is defined,as shown in Figure 2. Warren & Matzke [19] showed empirically for WC-Co alloys that KIc is proportional to (HW)l/2, where W is the aforementioned Palmqvist toughness. The constant of proportionality is 0.087. A similar proportionality was derived by Niihara [20] for crack lengths 0.25<(lla)<2.5:
KIc

= 0.0246(EI

H)215(HW)1/2

Shetty et al. [21] used a wedge-loaded crack as a fracture mechanical analogue to the situation in Palmqvist cracks. They derived an equation without any further empirical fitting:
Klc

= 0.0889(HW)l/2

which is almost identical with the Warren & Matzke [19] relation. The plastic zone was treated rigid and ideally plastic, the displaced hardness impression volume was

FRACTURE TOUGHNESS EVALUATION OF WC-Co ALLOYS

151

assumed to be accommodated in the plastic zone. In reality apart of the hardness impression volume is taken up by some displacement of the material to the surface (surface pile-up). The plastic zone also probably undergoes some elastic compression.

3. TEST MATERIALS AND EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES

The WC-Co alloys used in this study are listed in Table 1. All alloys are commercial grades and were manufactured by Metallwerk Plansee, Reutte, or in the case of alloy 10 CC by Krupp Widia, Essen. The letters F, M and C denote the carbide grain size levels fine, medium and coarse, respectively, while the numbers denote the cobalt weight fraction.
W 17.04 0.83 12600 10900 11900 11500 12700 11600 13700 11700 14400 18.80 0.68 2.18 2.16 0.69 0.64 1.68 1.50 3930 4000 2375 2850 1.43 1530 9800 1895 1815 104015.1 172014.8 131513.2 13.06 13.63 15.52 12.48 16.73 15.71 14.21 11.68 78512.9 20.4 24.7 16.2 16.5 9.8 4.46 1.83 16.04 19.8 16.1 (MPa) (um) (%) (MPa KICe m1/2) (Nimm) used in d(WC)b Hv Table 1. Materials bWC grain size.with single-edge-notched-beam eKle measured j(Co)a

the present study

specimens.

The reported hardness and Palmqvist toughness values are mean values of measurements at three or more different loads. Fracture toughness and microstructural parameters of these alloys were measured very accurately as part of a study that dealt with the fracture mechanism of WC-Co [22]. The method of determining the fracture toughness was a single-edge-notched-beam technique using chevron-notched specimens to get sharp precracks, which is described in detail in that study. The broken fracture toughness sampies of Sigl & Fischmeister [22] were used for the present indentation study. They were first ground plane with diamond grinding wheels (74, 30 and 10 11m), then polished with a Technotron system (polis hing cloth MM 414, polishing liquid MM 140) until an optically perfect surface was obtained. Planopol equipment from Struers was used for all procedures. Since grinding causes surface stresses [3] which do affect crack development, a stress free surface must be achieved. Therefore, the polished specimens were annealed at 850C for 2 h in an evacuated quartz glass ampoule to relieve residual stresses and to res tore the original stress state. All sam pies were cooled at 200 K/h in order to avoid influences of the cooling rate on residual stresses [23, 24] and cobalt grain size [25]. After annealing, the sampies were briefly polished with 6 11m diamond paste to remove possible surface oxidation layers caused by residual oxygen in the ampoule. A comparison with sampies, where the deformed surface layers were removed by polishing according to Exner [3], showed no discernible differences in the measured crack lengths.

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Apart from the surface stress state other potential sources of error need attention: the cracks must be larger than the typical dimensions of the microstructure; lateral vents, which interact with the median crack system in many ceramics, do not form in WC-Co alloys with cobalt contents as used in the present study; time-dependent crack growth, which is found in many brittle materials, has hardly been observed in WC-Co alloys [26]; thus, effects of the testing atmosphere should be negligible. All indentations were made with a commercial Frank hardness testing machine. The distance between an indentation and the edges of the sampie or other indentations was chosen to be at least four times the distance between the ends of opposite cracks, in order to avoid interactions affecting the crack lengths. Depending on the alloy, loads within the range of 300-2500 N were applied and at each load three or more indentations were made. Crack lengths were in the range of 0.25l/ a)< 1.25 (1.25cI a)<2.25). The sampie surface and supporting plate were always exactly parallel to each other in order to load the Vickers diamond regularly and to minimize shearing load during the crack extension. All indentations were made with a loading time of lOs held at full load; time-dependent crack growth was not observed. Measurement of crack length and indentation diagonal were made with an optical microscope at 1000 X and 250 X magnification, respectively.

4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

For Palmqvist or median cracks the following empirically derived load dependences of crack lengths are valid, as mentioned in the introduction: Palmqvist crack: Median crack:

1= (const) xP
c=(const) Xp2/3

(1) (2)

First of all, it is of interest to know to what extent these dependences hold for WC-Co. Figure 3 shows for example the Palmqvist relation for alloy 10 Ce. The standard deviation of the crack lengths is 6%. Obviously, equation (1) describes the experimental values very well, even for this relatively tough alloy (KIc = 18.8 MPa m1/2), which forms dearly distinct and measurable cracks only at indentation loads above 1000 N. A corresponding good relationship holds for the other alloys examined in this study. This is in agreement with published values of crack lengths and indentation loads for WC-Co alloys, which satisfy equation (1) (for details see Exner et al. [4] and Warren & Matzke [19]). Therefore, a Palmqvist crack shape should be expected for WC-Co alloys. Additional support for this condusion has been obtained from several studies dealing with the indentation crack type in WC-Co. The work of Perrot [27] and Ogilvy et al. [10] shows that simple non-cydic loading causes cracks, which extend radially within median planes of the indentation remaining dose to the specimen surface (cydic loading causes other crack types as well, e.g. lateral vents). Crack profiles, which were evaluated by sequential polishing [18, 19, 28], show surface cracks, which are dose to the idealized Palmqvist crack in Figure 2. For SiCreinforced Al203 or soda-lime-silica glass, a load-dependent transition from Palmqvist to median crack type growth has been reported [9, 16]. In the latter case, shallow Palmqvist cracks develop at low load levels which merge at higher load levels underneath the indentation to form median cracks. In WC-Co alloys, however, no median cracks could be generated even at high loads [21]. The individual crack fronts remain separated and the crack is in all cases the Palmqvist type. Perrott [29] showed

FRACTURE TOUGHNESS EVALUATION OF WC-Co ALLOYS

153

> Cl 1tI 0 .3-

er '" U .c c.. 'e u U) ;:] E e .:.: ....

..... c:: 1tI .... ...J .... QJ

'" 0

200 1000 800 600 400 500 1000 2000 3000 1500 2500 [N] 0

Figure 3. Surn of Palrnqvist crack lengths versus load for indentations in alloy 10 CC.

that Palmqvist cracks are the only cracks observed in reasonably tough materials such as cemented carbide grades with more than 6 wt% binder. Despite the difference in the actual crack shape, the load dependence of the lengths for median cracks according to equation (2) is suitable to describe the behaviour of WC-Co, as the studies of Laugier [18] or Shetty et al. [21] demonstrated. Lankford [30] even claimed that the relation for median cracks due to Evans & Charles [13] is applicable to all crack morphologies. To compare equations (1) and (2), the simple relation between c, 1 and a

c=l+a

(3)

will be used. Inserting the Palmqvist toughness, Iv, and the relation between indentation diagonal and hardness into equation (3) yields C=P/4W+(P/2H)1/2

(4)

Figure 4 shows the me an square fits of equation (2) for median cracks and equation (4) for Palmqvist cracks to the experimental values obtained with alloy 10 CC. Surprisingly, both predictions are almost identical. Therefore, both the Palmqvist models and the median crack models must be taken into consideration in a comparison of indentation toughness models. To find the indentation model best applicable to WC-Co, a combination of various experimental facts will be used to develop suitable selection criteria. First, the formation of a steady state bridging zone extending not more than 20 j,lm into the crack wake is a characteristic feature of cracking in WC-Co and is responsible for a virtually flat R-curve [31]. The consequence is a load-independent fracture toughness for cracks in the asymptotic regime, i.e. for cracks >20 j,lm [32]. Secondly, it should be noted that WC-Co is not prone to environmentally assisted cracking [26]. To assess the applicability of indentation models to WC-Co, our key demand is thus the load and time independence of toughness. Obviously we also require the indentation results to match conventionally measured toughness data .. As the measured crack lengths of the studied alloys lie in the range

0 u E 2-

.... co 1Il Q l .::L

154 C 0 L 0 c

200 300 100 R. SPIEGLER 400 500 0 600

ET AL.

Median

Cr'ack Fit Cr'ack Fit

PalmQvist

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

Load

[N]

Figure

4. A comparison of indentation crack lengths and load data with the me an square fits of equations (4) and (2) for Palmqvist and median cracks, respectively (alloy 10 CC).

0.25lIa)<1.25

(1.25cla)<2.25)

they are invalid for the median crack models

(cl a> 2.5) but in the validity range of the Palmqvist crack models. Figures 5 and 6
show the toughness data for alloy 10 CC obtained according to the different indentation models. The standard deviations of the KIc values are 9% for median crack models and 3% for Palmqvist crack models. (The behaviour of 10 CC is typical for all alloys examined in this study.)
a...

I10 w

Cl .... c:: c...

U)

u E

24 28 32 500 1000 2000 1500 3000 2500 16 20 [N] 12

1980 1981

EVANS/CHARLES ET AL. 1976 _-r -_ -e-.....-ANSTIS -.LAWN ET -0-0- _0_ - AL. -() & .. - - - - ..

-- .-------.

Figure

S. Indentation

fracture

toughness

values ca1culated with the median crack models of

Anstis et al. [17], Lawn et al. [15] and Evans & Charles [13] for alloy 10 CC.

The median crack models due to Lawn et al. [15] and Evans & Charles [13] show a clear load dependence of the indentation toughness values and are therefore excluded

FRACTURE TOUGHNESS EVALUATION OF WC-Co ALLOYS

155

from further considerations. The reason for the load dependence of toughness is assumed to lie in the inadequate description of the Palmqvist cracks by the median models. All other models show no discernible load dependence. Results of the crack models of Laugier [18] or Niihara [20] are not induded in the diagram. They differ from the results of the Anstis et al. [17] model just by a constant factor. Obviously, only the Shetty et al. [21] model with a toughness value of 17.5 MPa m1/2 is dose to the expected value of 18.8 MPa ml12 The models of Anstis et al., Laugier, Niihara et al. (median crack) and Niihara (Palmqvist crack), however, yield unrealistically high toughness numbers of 27, 33, 34 and 24.5 MPa ml12 Therefore Shetty's approach is considered to be most applicable to WC-Co alloys.

Cl.. Cl

~ u.. 0 u c: .r:: ~ c: crc E

.... Q.l

-0 cn 0

20 30 500 1000 2000 1500 3000 2500 [N] 10

15 r 25

1985 NIIHAAA ...-. ........ -e-SHETTY -e- -0- - ET - AL. -0-0- 1981 -0-

- - -0

Figure

6. Indentation

fracture toughness values calculated with the Palmqvist crack models of Niihara [20] and Shetty et al. [21] for alloy 10 CC.

Figure 7 shows the toughness calculated from the Shetty model as a function of cobalt volume fraction and carbide grain size. With increasing cobalt volume fraction the indentation fracture toughness increases. Coarse-grained alloys are tougher than fine-grained alloys at constant cobalt volume fraction. This behaviour is in agreement with the trends known from conventionally measured fracture toughness [33]. Figure 8 compares the indentation fracture toughness according to Shetty with Kic values measured on single-edge-notched-beam specimens. For comparison, the 1:1 correlation line is added. The agreement is reasonable, the largest relative deviations being about 20%. The accuracy of the indentation fracture toughness measurement is controlled by the errors in the hardness Hand Palmqvist toughness W. Hardness can be measured very exactly even with only a few indentations. The standard deviation for three indentations each at three loads is only 0.7% on average. In the case of Palmqvist indentations the precision of the toughness is strongly affected by the WC grain size: fine- or medium-grained alloys exhibit a standard deviation for W of the order of 2%, while for coarse-grained alloys the deviation approaches 8%. As Kic varies with WJI2, the effect is small; the standard deviation of the Kic value is 1% for fine- and mediumgrained alloys, 4% for coarse-grained alloys. The scatter in measuring the indentation

"C

CI .... Ul

u... ..... 10 t... Ul c:: Q.I ::J c::

0 a. I.c 156 U ~
0

15 5 R. 25 SPIEGLER ET AL. 0 20 10 30

WC GRAIN SIZE Fine Coarse oMedium

15 Content
20 25 30

10

Coba 1t

(Vo 1-%)

Figure 7. The dependence ofthe indentation toughness according to the Shetty et al. [21] model
of WC-Co alloys on cobalt content and carbide grain size.

fracture toughness is, therefore, considerably less than the fit with conventional Kic values. The deviations are thus deemed to be due to simplifications in the Shetty model rather than to experimental errors. For practical work, however, these deviations are certainly tolerable.

0 u ~

QJ

E
lJ)

Cl IC a. .c: ~
lJ) I.J.. ::J t... lO

0 ....

30 25 20 5 10 15 0

WC GRAIN SIZE Fine o Medium Coarse

5 Ind.

10

15

20

25

30

Fracture

Toughness

[MPamV~

Figure 8. Correlation of fracture toughness values for WC-Co alloys, measured with singleedge-notched-beam specimens and indentation fracture toughness values according to the Shetty et al. [21] model.

FRACTURE

TOUGHNESS

EVALUATION

OF WC-Co

ALLOYS

157

5. CONCLUSION
Our conclusion is that Palmqvist crack models are much more applicable to WC-Co cermets than are the median crack approaches. This view is supported by crack profiling of commercial WC-Co alloys which has brought clear evidence for the existence of Palmqvist cracks under loading conditions comparable with those of the present study. Not surprisingly, our study demonstrates that any median-type indentation model either does not supply load-independent fracturt:: toughness data or largely overestimates the fracture resistance of WC-Co alloys. Consequently we regard median crack models inappropriate to describe indentation cracking in WC-Co. In general, Palmqvist crack models do satisfy the criterion of load independent fracture toughness. This result is expected in the light of the metallographie evidence discussed above. Nevertheless, some Palmqvist-type models yield poor agreement with absolute values of toughness obtain~d from single-edge-notched-beam experiments. Only Shetty's formula deviates from conventionally measured Kic values by less than 20%. It is therefore considered superior to the other models discussed here. Shetty's approach allows a quick extraction of fairly accurate fracture toughness numbers of WC-Co cermets from only a few indentations. It is therefore an attractive tool for the screening of various grades of cemented carbides. This feature could be of special interest to the hard metal industry which so far has been lacking a cheap and reliable method of assessing Klc in routine control. However, care has to be taken so far as extrapolation of the Shetty model to other cermet materials is concerned. As results on ceramies in the toughness range below 8 MPa milz indicate, the reduced fracture resistance of materials like TiC- TiN-Ni might lead to a transition from Palmqvist-type to median-type cracks which would invalidate the Shetty model. Addressing the question of the applicability of indentation models to cermets less tough than WC-Co will be the subject of forthcoming research.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
S. Schmauder appreciates the financial support through a scholarship supplied by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS). The authors are grateful to Metallwerk Plansee, Reutte, Austria, and Krupp Widia, Essen, for supplying the sampies. Discussion with Professor Exner led to improvements of this paper.

References
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R SPIEGLER ET AL.

[12] B.R Lawn and E.R Fuller, J. Mater. Sei., 10, 2016-2024 (1975). [13] A.G. Evans and E.A. Charles, J. Am. Ceram. Soe., 59, 371-372 (1976). [14] A.G. Evans, Fraeture Meehanies Applied to Briule Materials, ASTM STP 678, American Society for Testing and Materials, Philadelphia, PA (1979), pp. 112-135. [15] B.R Lawn, A.G. Evans and D.B. Marshall,J. Am. Ceram. Soe., 63, 574-581 (1980). [16] K. Niihara, R Morena and D.P.H. Hasseiman, Fraeture Meehanies 0/ Ceramies, Vol. 5, Plenum Press, New York (1983), pp. 97-105. [17] G.R Anstis, P. Chantikul, B.R Lawn and D.B. Marshall, J. Am. Ceram. Soe., 9, 533-543 (1981). [18] M.T. Laugier, J. Mater. Sei. Leu., 4, 1539-1541 (1985). [19] R Warren and H.J. Matzke, Proe. First Int. Con! on Seienee 0/ Hard Materials (RK. Viswanadham, D.J. Rowcliffe and J. Gurland, Eds), Plenum Press, New York (1981), pp. 563-582. [20] K. Niihara,J. Mater. Sei. Leu., 2, 221-223 (1983). [21] D.K. Shetty, I.G. Wright, P.N. Mincer and A.H. Clauer, J. Mater. Sei., 20, 1873-1882 (1985). [22] L.S. Sigl and H.F. Fischmeister, Aeta Metall., 36, 887-897 (1988). [23] D.N. French, J. Am. Ceram. Soe., 52, 271-275 (1969). [24] RA. Cutler and A.V. Virkar,J. Mater. Sei., 20, 3557-3573 (1985). [25] H. Suzuki, K. Hayashi and Y. Taniguchi, Planseeber. Pulvermet., 27, 215-222 (1979). [26] F. Osterstock and J.L. Chermant, Proe. First Int. Con! on Seienee 0/ Hard Materials (RK. Viswanadham, D.J. Rowcliffe and J. Gurland, Eds), Plenum Press, New York (1981), pp. 615-628. [27] C.M. Perrott, Wear, 47, 81-91 (1978). [28] L. Yuangming,Inst. Phys. Con! Sero No. 75, Adam Hilger, Bristol (1986), pp. 645-656. [29] C.M. Perrott, Wear, 45, 293-309 (1977). [30] J. Lankford, J. Mater. Sei. Leu., 1, 493-495 (1982). [31] L.S. Sigl and H.E. Exner, Metall. Trans., 18A, 1299-1308 (1987). [32] L.S. Sigl, Das Zhigkeitsverhalten von WC-Co Legierungen, VDI, Dsseldorf (1986). [33] R Warren and B. Johannesson, Int. J. Refract. Hard Mater., 3, 187-191 (1984).