EPMA to launch club project on micro-mechanical testing of hardmetals
June 12, 2018
The European Powder Metallurgy Association (EPMA) has announced that it will launch a club project titled ‘Micro-mechanical testing: a quantitative method for measuring local mechanical properties in hardmetals – Stage 2’ in partnership with Centro de Estudios e Investigaciones Técnicas de Gipuzkoa (CEIT), San Sebastian, Spain, The National Physical Laboratory (NPL), London, UK, and Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC), Barcelona, Spain.
This is the second stage of a programme aimed at the development of robust metrology for the mechanical characterisation of key microstructural features in hardmetals. The proposed project focuses on two aspects of microsample testing to measure the mechanical properties of hardmetals at the local scale: the effect of geometry on the repeatability of the tests and the characterisation of interfacial strength.
In a previous exploratory study, microsamples of different geometries were machined using Focused Ion Beam (FIB) machining and tested with different nanoindenter systems. The force-displacement measurements obtained demonstrated good repeatability, captured the effect of WC orientation for fracture and discriminated WC-WC interfaces with different relative orientation.
The overall cost of the project to its partners will be €60,000, which is to be shared by the participants. It is planned that the project should begin in the coming months and will last 12 months overall. The project is open for all companies to participate in; interested organisations are advised to contact Dr Olivier Coube, EPMA Technical Director ([email protected]).
