Tungsten carbide also called cemented carbide or simply carbide, is an inorganic chemical compound containing equal parts of tungsten and carbon atoms. Tungsten carbide is main material for producing cemented carbide products, its chemical formula is WC. Tungsten carbide is black crystal with six square. It is a good conductor of electricity and heat with metallic luster. Tungsten carbide is insoluble in water, hydrochloric acid and sulfuric acid. But it is easy to soluble in the mixed of nitric acid and hydrofluoric acid. Pure tungsten carbide is easy to be broken. If incorporation of small amount titanium, cobalt, it will reduce the brittleness. Tungsten carbide which used as steel cutting tools always contains titanium, tantalum or mixture to improve the anti explosion capacity. Certainly, chemical properties of tungsten carbide is stable.
Tungsten carbide plate is approximately three times stiffer than steel, with a Young's modulus of approximately 550 GPa, and is much denser than steel or titanium. It is comparable with corundum or sapphire in hardness and can only be polished and finished with abrasives of superior hardness such as cubic boron nitride and diamond among others, in the form of powder, wheels, and compounds.
Tungsten carbide is the preferred material for parts that must withstand all forms of wear (including sliding abrasion, erosion, corrosion wear) and exhibit a high degree of toughness. It exhibits high compressive strength, resists deflection, and retains its hardness values at high temperatures, a physical property especially useful in metal-cutting applications.
