Development of new WC–Ni hardmetals for use in high pressure experiments.

Ultrafine-grained (0.2–0.3 µm) WC–Ni hardmetals with a low Ni content (3–5 wt%) were developed using new production techniques based on adding an appropriate amount of VC and Cr3C2,combined with the strong mixing of raw materials. Their uniaxial compressibility was subsequently compared with that of existing WC–Ni and WC–Co hardmetals to assess their suitability for use as anvils in various high pressure experiments, particularly those associated with neutron or magnetic studies. The ultimate compressive strength of the newly developed hardmetals was over 7.7 GPa, which was higher by 1.2 GPa than that of the existing WC–Ni hardmetal ‘MF10’. When these hardmetals were used as anvils, a pressure of approximately 16 GPa was generated using a Paris-Edinburgh-type apparatus with φ8 mm culet, thereby proving that they can allow the physical properties of various materials to be measured at higher pressures than is possible with existing hardmetals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]