Scope of carbide metals

Carbide metal is composed of chemically bonded tungsten and carbide. Its superior hardness allows it to replace steel and other metal alloys in a variety of applications.

In its basic form, it is a fine gray powder, but it can be pressed and molded for use in industrial equipment, tools, abrasives, as well as jewelry.

Tungsten carbide carbide is about four times harder than steel, with a Young's modulus of about 550 GPa, and much denser than steel or titanium. It is comparable in hardness to corundum (a-Al2O3) and can only be polished and machined with diamond tools.

Typical applications for carbide metals:

1) Machine tools. Carbide cutting parts are often used on materials such as carbon steel or stainless steel, or where other tools wear quickly under heavy loads. Carbide is guaranteed to speed up the processing speed of a large number of metal parts. Carbide tools can also withstand higher temperatures than standard steel tools. This material is commonly referred to as cemented carbide, hardmetal, or tungsten carbide: it is a metal matrix composite in which the tungsten carbide particles are the aggregate and cobalt metal is the matrix.

2) Defense industry

• Carbide metal is often used in armor-piercing ammunition, especially where uranium is not available or unacceptable. For the first time, the use of hard alloy shells began to be used during World War II by the German Luftwaffe tank hunter squadron, which used a 37-mm cannon on a Junkers Ju 87G dive bomber to destroy Soviet T-34 tanks. Due to limited supplies of tungsten in Germany, the material was reserved for machine tools and a small number of projectiles for elite combat pilots such as Hans-Ulrich Rudel. The material has exceptionally high armor-piercing qualities due to its high hardness combined with high density.
• Ammunition can be reinforced with tungsten carbide inserts, where copper or another relatively soft material is used to seal a hard-to-penetrate core.
• Tungsten carbide is also an effective neutron reflector and, as such, was used during early research on nuclear chain reactions. The accident occurred at Los Alamos National Laboratory on August 21, 1945, when Harry C. Daghlian Jr. accidentally dropped a tungsten carbide brick onto a sphere of plutonium, causing the doctritic mass to become critical with reflected neutrons.

3) Sports equipment

• Carbide metals, especially alloys with tungsten carbide, are used, as a rule, to reinforce various poles that carry heavy loads. Trekking poles, used by many hikers for balance and less stress on the joints of the feet, typically use carbide tips to increase traction when leaning on hard surfaces (such as rocks); these carbide tips last much longer than other types of tips.
• Although the tips of ski poles are not usually made of hard alloys, as they do not have to be particularly hard even to break through a layer of ice, the same cannot be said for roller skis, whose tips require special strength. Roller skis mimic cross-country skiing and are used by many skiers for training in warm weather.
• Carbide-tipped toothed spikes (known as studs) can be inserted into snowmobile tracks. These studs enhance traction on icy surfaces. Relatively sharp carbide edges improve handling on harder ice surfaces. Carbide tips reduce the wear that occurs when the snowmobile traverses asphalt roads and other abrasive surfaces.
• Some tire manufacturers such as Nokian and Schwalbe offer bicycle tires with tungsten carbide studs for better grip on ice. They are much stronger than steel spikes due to their wear resistance.

4) Carbide metals in household products

• Tungsten carbide is sometimes used to produce a spinning ball on the tips of ballpoint pens to diffuse ink while writing.
• Carbide material is found in jewelry, especially as the main material in men's wedding bands. With a special treatment of the alloy, grooves appear on it with a brilliant dark tint, often polished to a mirror finish. The color is more like hematite than platinum. Products are highly resistant to scratches and abrasions, retaining their mirror shine for many years.

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