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Received Jun 20, 2017; Accepted Aug 3, 2017
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1. Introduction
Composite materials are composed of two or more materials. The properties of these materials, derived from those of the constituents, make them suitable for various applications [1, 2].
The properties of these materials, such as hardness and density, vary according to the industrial applications [3, 4]. In these studies, the density of tungsten carbide materials shows a change between 80% and 95%, while the hardness of these materials is between 580 and 1300 HV. Cemented carbides are hard and tough materials in which micrometer sized carbide particles are surrounded by a binder metal. Cemented carbides are produced by solid-state sintering of carbides and metal powders at temperatures in the range of 1300–1500°C. These materials are used under severe environmental conditions such as in the presence of abrasives (6000 revolutions at a load of 13.6 kg using a 229 mm diameter rubber wheel and dry sand) and under thermal shock (test samples were heated up to 1200°C with a heating speed of 400°C/min and cooled in water), high impact loads (3,000 kg load), and severe fatigue at temperatures as high as 1000°C. WC-Co is a hard metal cemented carbide that can be used under these conditions owing to its physical and mechanical properties. Besides the high abrasion and corrosion resistance, these materials show high temperature resistance, which is why they are used in several industries [5, 6].
In the last few years, in the electronic industry, the increased requirement of WC particles has resulted in the need for enhancing the properties of the product, such as 1500°C temperature, 500°C/min heating speed, and 4000 kg impact load [7–9]. Therefore, synthesis and sintering of WC particles have been adopted in several industries such as metal and building industries that use high temperature (>1500°C) and corrosion (95% salt spray conditions) and abrasive conditions (6000 revolutions at a load of 13.6 kg using a 229 mm diameter rubber...