Cemented carbides (WC-Co) are one of the most prominent powder metallurgy processed materials used for cutting tool applications. This is due to a combination of excellent hardness/wear resistance and toughness with low cost compared to alternatives such as polycrystalline diamond. During service, however, the composite structure is subjected to a combination of high mechanical and thermal loads until excessive wear and fracture reduce the performance and lifetime. Crack paths in WC-Co predominantly follow WC/WC and WC/Co grain and phase boundaries at low cobalt concentrations. While the WC grain boundary character, the grain boundary network, is characterised for differently doped cemented carbides, knowledge of how the grain boundary network evolves during service and ultimately allows for crack formation along grain boundaries is absent. To understand the grain boundary network evolution, an analysis workflow verified in a case study on Mg2SiO4 has been developed. During torsional deformation, the GB network interacted with dislocations, leading to overall material weakening. We will follow this case study to understand the evolution of the WC-Co GB network with increasing deformation.
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