Examination of wear damage to rock-mining hardmetal drill bits

WC/Co mining bits from a drill head used for drilling holes for roof support bolts in a mine were examined using a focused ion beam scanning electron microscope (FIB-SEM). This was combined with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses to study the chemical int...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inInternational journal of refractory metals & hard materials Vol. 66; pp. 1 - 10
Main Authors Jones, H.G., Norgren, S.M., Kritikos, M., Mingard, K.P., Gee, M.G.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Shrewsbury Elsevier BV 01.08.2017
Subjects
Chemical damage
Chemical reactions
Diffraction
Drill bits
Drilling
FIBSEM
Hardmetals
Impact wear
Intermetallic compounds
Ion beams
Mining
Morphology
Rock drilling
Scanning electron microscopy
Silicides
Spectrum analysis
Studies
Tool wear
Tribochemistry
X-ray diffraction
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Summary:WC/Co mining bits from a drill head used for drilling holes for roof support bolts in a mine were examined using a focused ion beam scanning electron microscope (FIB-SEM). This was combined with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses to study the chemical interaction between the drill bit and the rock. It was found that at the surface of the buttons there was depletion of cobalt, change in chemistry of the remaining binder regions, and changes to the morphology of the WC grains. Tribochemistry calculations were done to understand the possible formation of silicides at the surface of the drill bits, and thus emphasise the importance of quartz content in rock on wear. The evidence of mechanical damage combined with chemical reactions is another step towards understanding the complete wear process in hardmetal mining tools.
ISSN:0263-4368
DOI:10.1016/j.ijrmhm.2017.01.013