Characterization of surface degradation and wear damage Of cemented carbide in rock drilling

In this work, worn top hammer drill bit buttons after underground drifting in Granodiorite are analysed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) and electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) to understand the dominant surface failure and wear mechanisms on the flank wear land region, i.e. the outer side of the gauge row cemented carbide buttons. SEM shows that the worn surface of the flank wear land is partly covered with islands of a thin rock material transfer layer and that the exposed cemented carbide show deformed, cracked and fragmented WC grains. AES gives that the transferred rock material is mainly located on the surface but may penetrate into cemented carbide microstructure to a depth of 1-2 WC grain diameters. Finally, EBSD reveals that the deformation of the cemented carbide in the flank wear land region is located to a thin zone, about ~10 μm in depth.Mikrostrukturell design av hårdmetall för bergborrtillämpninga