IMPROVEMENT OF WEAR COMPONENT'S PERFORMANCE BY UTILIZING ADVANCED MATERIALS AND NEW MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGIES: CASTCON PROCESS FOR MINING APPLICATIONS

FM Material was HIPped at 1200 C under 30 ksi. Full density was achieved. This material presents average Vicker's hardness of 1068 and fracture toughness of 10.05 MPa m{sup 1/2} in the fiber parallel direction and average Vicker's hardness of 987 and fracture toughness of 9.52 MPa m{sup 1/2} in the fiber perpendicular direction. Binder burnout of larger FM specimen (0.865 inches in diameter and 1.25 inches in length) was found very difficult. Large cracks and delamination appeared on the specimen's surface and interior even with a very slow burnout rate of 0.1 C/min was used