Fracture toughness of solar-sintered WC with Co additive

A tungsten carbide (WC) cylinder specimen containing 10 mass% Co sintering aid was prepared under concentrated solar radiation (measured maximum temperature no higher than 1500 °C) in dynamic primary vacuum and its fracture toughness was evaluated by Vickers indentation method. In spite of very fast rates of heating and cooling applied in the solar-sintering process, fracture toughness of the prepared WC cylinder specimen was comparable to that of WC sintered piece prepared through a conventional industrial process in electric furnace under a slow heating and cooling condition. Present results together with the previously reported results for solar-sintered alumina ceramic disk appear to suggest the promising possibility of using solar radiation heating for manufacturing sintered ceramic components.