Keyword: «iron-carbon alloys»

A complex of methods was used to study the microstructure, elemental and phase composition of a diamond-containing hard-alloy matrix obtained by impregnation of the Fe-C eutectic melt in vacuum. It was found that the matrix consists of phases of tungsten carbide with a relative content of 61.0%, iron carbide – 17.0%, α-Fe – 16.5%, and graphite – 5.5%. The Fe-C eutectic alloy, which acts as a binding component of the matrix, consists of a ferrite-pearlite metal base with graphite inclusions. The microhardness of the matrix based on tungsten carbide impregnated with Fe-C melt is ~11 GPa, which is more than 3 times higher than the microhardness of the tungsten-cobalt matrix obtained by sintering with copper impregnation