Quasi-Plastic Deformation of WC-Co Composites Loaded with a Spherical Indenter

The quasi-plastic deformation behavior of cemented tungsten carbide (WC-Co) materials was studied using Hertzian indentation techniques. The indentation stress-strain curves of three WC-10 wt pct Co alloys with different hardness values demonstrate that WC-Co alloys exhibit “quasi-plasticity” behavior under indentation load and the increase of indentation stress vs indentation strain bears similarity to “strain hardening” in ductile metals. The analysis of the subsurface indentation damage shows that the mechanisms of the quasi-plastic deformation of WC-Co material are the formation of microcracks. Microcracks were found at heavily damaged areas in all three alloys, and the number of microcracks was higher for the sample with the higher apparent quasi-plasticity. The threshold stress values for the onset of quasi-plastic deformation and formation of ring cracks were determined and used to evaluate the brittleness index of these materials. The correlation of the brittleness index with hardness values gives insight with regard to the brittle or quasi-plastic responses of WC-Co materials.