Physical and chemical nature of cemented carbides

Cemented carbides are, from a technical point of view, one of the most successful composite materials. The physical and chemical aspects of the components (transition-metal carbides and iron-group metals) and of their interaction in hardmetals are reviewed with emphasis on the materials science point of view focusing on those compositions which have gained technical interest. Crystal structures and phase relationships are discussed in detail. The interaction of components (wetting, residual stresses) and some microstructural aspects (size, contiguity, and shape) are treated also. These fundamentals are the basis of understanding the production processes and the properties of cemented carbides.