Characterization and comparison of grain boundary character distributions in cemented carbides with different binder phases

The electron backscattered diffraction measurement, coupled with a statistical and stereological approach namely five parameter analysis method, was used to investigate the character distributions of carbide/carbide grain boundaries in a WC-6 wt%Co cemented carbide sample and a WC-6 wt%Ni cemented carbide sample. The 90°/[10 −10] boundary was found as the most frequently occurring carbide/carbide boundary type in both samples, however, the populations as well as spatial distributions of the 90°/[10 −10] boundary varied with different binder phases. Moreover, traces of the 90°/[10 −10] grain boundaries may have separate configurations or adjoin at triple junctions. The geometry features of 90°/[10 −10] boundary traces indicate that the energy equilibrium of the referred carbide grains has significant potential on the crack propagation.