FIBROUS MONOLITH WEAR RESISTANT COMPONENTS FOR THE MINING INDUSTRY

Published mechanical and thermal properties data on a variety of materials was gathered, with focus on materials that have potential with respect to developing wear resistant and damage tolerant composite for mining industry applications. Preliminary core materials of interest include but are not limited to: Diamond, Tungsten Carbide and Cemented Tungsten Carbides, Carbides of Boron, Silicon, Titanium and Aluminum, Diboride of Titanium and Aluminum, Nitrides of Aluminum, Silicon, Titanium, and Boron, Aluminum Oxide, Tungsten, Titanium, Iron, Cobalt and Metal Alloys. Preliminary boundary materials of interest include but are not limited to: W metal, WC-Co, W-Co, WFeNi, and Mo metal and alloys. Several FM test coupons were fabricated with various compositions using the above listed materials. These coupons were consolidated to varying degrees by uniaxial hot pressing, then cut and ground to expose the FM cell structure. One promising system, WC-Co core and WFeNi boundary, was consolidated to 97% of theoretical density, and demonstrates excellent hardness. Data on standard mechanical tests was gathered, and tests will begin on the consolidated test coupons during the upcoming reporting period. The program statements of work for ACR Inc. and its subcontractors, as well as the final contract negotiations, were finalized during the current reporting period. The program start date was February 22nd, 2001. In addition to the current subcontractors, Kennametal Inc., a major manufacturer of cutting tools and wear resistant tooling for the mining industry, expressed considerable interest in ACR's Fibrous Monolith composites for both machine and mining applications. At the request of Kennametal, ARC Inc fabricated and delivered several Fibrous Monolith coupons and components for testing and evaluation in the mining and machine tool applications. Additional samples of Diamond/Tungsten Carbide-6%Cobalt Fibrous Monolith were fabricated and delivered for testing Kennametal's Rapid Omni-directional Consolidation (ROC) Process. A meeting was held with Kennametal Inc. September 27th, 2001. At this meeting, Kennametal expressed interest in working with ACR on three mining tool applications including roof bits, point attack tooling and drill bit inserts. In addition, there is considerable interest in developing FM composite machine cutting tools, which involves crosscutting technology. In addition to the discussions on business development, Kennametal reported on testing performed on ACR's FM composites the first quarter of this year. ACR Inc. also visited Tribocor Inc. of Houston TX to discuss the possibility of teaming to consolidate diamond/WC-Co composite coatings. Diamond-based composites require special high pressure consolidation equipment and Tribocor has expressed an interest in providing diamond powder preparation and consolidation services, to enable the mass-production of a low cost diamond-based FM composite products including drill bit inserts and point attack tools. Tribocor has agreed to perform consolidation of diamond/WC-Co FM coated inserts to verify their consolidation process and produce test pieces that we can press into mining drill bits for field testing