Corrosion fatigue of cemented carbide cutting tool materials

The influence of a corrosive environment on the fatigue performance of two cemented carbides has been investigated. The corrosive media used were tannic acid and de-ionised water, chosen to simulate the environment encountered during wood cutting and metal cutting, respectively. The results show a corrosive environment to have a strong influence on the fatigue performance of the materials tested, such that specimen failure is observed at stress amplitudes equal to one quarter of the strength of the as-received material. The influence of the environment increases with decreasing stress amplitude and frequency. The mode of failure observed under corrosion fatigue conditions requires the simultaneous action of corrosive attack and cyclic loading.