Effect of SiC Nanowhisker on the Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of WC-Ni Cemented Carbide Prepared by Spark Plasma Sintering

Table 1

Specifications of the raw materials applied in this work.

	WC	Ni	VC	TaC	SiC nanowhisker
Purity (wt.%)	>99.5%	>99.9%	>99.0%	>99.0%	>99.0%
Oxygen content (wt.%)	<0.31%	—	—	—	<0.5%
Size	0~1 𝜇m (97.5%); 1~2 𝜇m (2.5%)	0.7 𝜇m	2–4 𝜇m	1-1.5 𝜇m	Diameter ≤ 250 nm; aspect ratio ≥ 20