Carbide Wear Resistant Plates

Carbide wear resistant plates are engineered plates made from tungsten carbide that provide excellent abrasion and impact resistance. They are commonly used in high wear applications across mining, mineral processing, steel making, cement, concrete and other industries.

Overview of Carbide Wear Resistant Plates

Carbide wear resistant plates have the following key characteristics:

  • Made from tungsten carbide or chromium carbide for high hardness and wear resistance
  • Embedded in a metal matrix like iron, nickel or cobalt that holds the hard carbide
  • Provide resistance to sliding abrasion and high stress impact
  • Used to line chutes, hoppers, cyclones, mills, separators and other high wear equipment
  • Offer 5-10 times more wear life compared to regular steel plates
  • Reduce wear part replacement frequency and extend service intervals
  • Available in different carbide percentages, binders and sizes

Typical Applications:

  • Mining – Chutes, hoppers, apron feeders, conveyors
  • Mineral processing – Cyclones, mills, separators
  • Cement – Chutes, air slides, separators, classifiers
  • Steel – Coal transfer chutes, coke vibrating screens
  • Concrete – Mixers, buckets, transfer points

Typical Sizes Available:

  • Thickness: 10 mm to 50 mm
  • Maximum size: 2 m x 6 m plates
  • Custom plates as per design

Standards:

  • ASTM A532: Carbide plates using cobalt/nickel binder
  • ISO 532: Plates with iron/nickel/cobalt binder
  • National standards in Australia, South Africa
carbide wear resistant plates

Carbide Wear Resistant Plate Composition

Carbide wear resistant plates have the following typical composition:

ComponentDescription
CarbideTungsten carbide WC (88%-97%) and small chromium carbide Cr3C2 (3%-12%) to provide hardness and wear resistance
BinderCobalt, Nickel or Iron to hold the carbide particles in a matrix
Carbide grain sizeMacro grain carbides > 2.5 mm diameter with >90% carbide content for applications with high stress impact <br> Micro grain carbides 0.5 – 2.5 mm diameter with up to 97% carbide for maximum abrasion resistance
AdditivesSmall amounts of elements like carbon, chromium, manganese, silicon added to binder to optimize properties

Typical carbide percentages: 90%, 92%, 94% and 97%

Typical binders: Nickel at 10-12%, Cobalt at 6-8% and Iron at 3-5%

Higher binder percentages make softer and tougher plates. Lower binder give harder and stronger plates.

Properties of Carbide Wear Resistant Plates

Carbide plates have the following typical properties:

PropertyValue
HardnessUp to 1700 HV (Vickers) for 97% tungsten carbide which is much harder than 400 BHN of steel
Strength500-1400 MPa compressive and 120-250 MPa transverse rupture strength
ToughnessUp to 25 MPa√m for macro grain carbide plates
DensityAround 13 gm/cc to 15 gm/cc
Service temperatureUp to 500oC
Electrical conductivityLow, especially with polymer fillers
Non-magneticExcept with steel binder

The extremely high hardness makes carbide plates highly resistant to abrasion while the toughness allows it to survive high impacts. The hardness is often graded similar to tool steel as C1, C2 etc. Higher C values indicate more wear resistance.

Features and Advantages

Carbide wear resistant plates provide the following features and benefits:

Features

  • High tungsten carbide content
  • Uniformly dispersed carbide grains
  • Excellent carbide-to-binder bond
  • Low porosity
  • Optimal grain structure

Advantages

  • Up to 10 times more wear resistant than steel
  • Provide predictable wear life
  • Resist abrasion and withstand impacts
  • Lower wear part replacement frequency
  • Extend maintenance intervals
  • Reduce life cycle and downtime costs

By significantly enhancing equipment service life, carbide plates offer a very high return on investment in terms of reduced operating costs.

Carbide Plate Manufacturing Process

Carbide plates are manufactured using powder metallurgy techniques:

Steps

  1. Tungsten carbide and chromium carbide powders are blended with binder metals
  2. Small amounts of additives are included in the binder powder
  3. The thoroughly mixed carbide-binder powder undergoes granulation for optimal packing density and fluidity
  4. It is compacted into a mold at high pressures around 1000 to 1600 MPa while heated using induction heating or sintering furnaces
  5. The molded green compact undergoes final sintering at 1300oC to 1500oC temperature in a hydrogen atmosphere
  6. Additional impregnation and infiltration may be done to further enhance properties
  7. The sintered high-density plate undergoes machining, grinding and lapping if required to achieve dimensional accuracy and surface finish

Advantages of powder metallurgy include

  • Homogeneous microstructure with uniformly distributed carbides
  • Near full density and optimal carbide grain size
  • Excellent consistency in properties from plate to plate
  • Plates can be manufactured in a wide range of sizes as per requirement

Applications of Carbide Wear Resistant Plates

Some typical applications include:

IndustryApplications
MiningChute liners, hopper liners, truck tray liners, grizzly screen plates
Mineral ProcessingMill liners, classifier cones, cyclone spigots, pump casings, spiral chute
CementChutes, air slides, clinker transfer, blending silo discharge
Steel makingSinter crusher hammers and bars, coke screen plates
Material handlingScrew conveyors in fertilizer plants, pellet lines
ConstructionBucket protection plates in wheel loaders, concrete transit mixer

Other applications are in dredgers, excavators, off-shore oil and gas, biomass handling, boiler equipment and custom wear solutions.

Carbide plates and tiles lined equipment have a typical service life of 12-36 months depending on the severity of the application versus just 2-6 months from regular steel. This helps significantly reduce replacement frequency and associated costs.

Carbide Plate Suppliers

Some major global suppliers of tungsten carbide wear solutions are:

BrandDescription
Hardox HiCrHigh chromium carbide iron-bonded wear plates from SSAB, Sweden
Ultimacobalt-bonded carbide plates from Castolin Eutectic / Messer
DurmaxCarbide plates from Durum, Germany with extra nickel or chromium carbide
Metso Carbideseveral carbide grades based on grain size and binder
ESCOOffers Platewelder attachments to fix carbide plates on hammers, buckets

Carbide plates are sold based on size, percentage carbide content, type of carbide grains used and properties needed for the application.

Prices range widely based on the product specifications from USD 20 per kg to over USD 100 per kg. Minimum order quantities and long lead times may be applicable.

Design Considerations for Carbide Wear Liners

Some key aspects in selection and design:

Plate thickness – thicker plates provide longer life but can crack under excessive impact. Rule of thumb is to not exceed 3 times the feed size.

Method of fixing – Mechanical fastening gives more flexibility versus welding directly. Allows for repositioning and sequential replacement of individual plates.

Using more plates – Multiple thinner plates are better than one thick plate to handle thermal stresses and impact. Allows faster replacement of individual damaged plates.

Surface finish is critical – carbide plates usually need additional machining and metal spray overlay for optimal fit. Gaps can cause uneven wear and failure.

Sealing joints – Use gaskets, GRP overlays or resilient fillets to prevent material entry behind plates which could pry them out.

Shape and coverage – Ensure proper coverage over impact zones, at transitions, corners, and edges. Custom shaping in relation to wear patterns is needed.

Supporting structure has to be rigid – loose support will result in plate cracking under impact and vibration.

Specifications

Typical specifications of carbide wear resistant plates include:

Grades

GradeDescription
C1Tungsten-chromium carbide blend with 8-12% cobalt for excellent impact resistance
C2As C1 but with slightly lower toughness and higher wear resistance
C3Mostly tungsten carbide with steel or nickel binder for applications with very high sliding abrasion

Sizes

ParameterRange
Thickness10 mm to 50 mm
WidthUp to 2000 mm
LengthUp to 6000 mm

Standards

StandardDescription
ASTM A532 class IChemical composition, grain size and mechanical properties
ASTM A532 class IIAdditional transverse rupture strength criteria
ISO 532Carbide grains embedded in iron group binder

Typical properties

Grade% CarbideHardnessImpact valueWear rate
C188-92%Up to 65 HRCOver 25 MPa√mUnder 8 cu mm per kg
C2Up to 95%Over 70 HRC15-25 MPa√m4-7 cu mm per kg
C3Over 97%Over 75 HRCUnder 15 MPa√m2-4 cu mm per kg

As hardness increases, the impact resistance goes down but wear resistance goes up. Optimal balance is needed based on the operating conditions.

Comparison of Carbide Plates

Versus Chrome / Manganese Steel

ParameterCarbide PlateChrome Steel Plate
HardnessUp to 75 HRCMax 50 HRC
Strength1000-1400 MPa800 MPa
Toughness10 MPa√mUp to 30 MPa√m
Wear resistanceExcellentFair
Work hardening rateLowHigh
Service temp500oC800oC
Price4-10X higherLower
ApplicationsOptimal for high abrasion/impactUsed for low/medium wear and high temp

Micro-grain versus Macro-grain Carbide Plates

ParameterMicro grain < 2.5 mmMacro grain > 2.5 mm
% CarbideUp to 97%88-93%
HardnessOver 70 HRCUp to 65 HRC
ToughnessLower at 10-15 MPa√mHigher at over 20 MPa√m
Wear rateExcellent at 2-5 cu mmVery good at 5-10 cu mm
PriceHigherLower
ApplicationsHigh abrasion but lower impactsExcellent for applications with high impacts

Micro-grain plates provide the highest wear resistance while macro-grain handle impacts better. Choice depends on whether the wear mechanism is predominantly sliding abrasion or stress impact.

carbide wear resistant plates

Ceramic Wear Composites Comparison

Ceramic wear composites like alumina, silicon carbide and zirconia provide the following differences to carbide plates:

Advantages

  • Extreme hardness of over 2000 HV
  • Maximum abrasion resistance
  • High temperature stability over 800°C
  • Lower density under 5 gm/cc
  • Non-sparking and non-magnetic

Disadvantages

  • Brittle with very low toughness
  • Vulnerable to thermal shocks
  • Low strength and poor impact resistance
  • Higher costs for custom solutions only

Applications:

Ceramic wear plates are optimal for fine particle abrasion at high temperatures beyond the capability of carbide plates. But require very controlled operating conditions.

FAQs

Q: Why are carbide plates so expensive compared to regular steel?

A: Carbide plates have 10 times more tungsten carbide which is around 40 times more expensive than steel. They also require specialized powder metallurgy manufacturing with extensive processing for optimal properties. But provide 5 to 10 times longer service life to justify the investment.

Q: What causes carbide plates to crack or break prematurely?

A: Most cracking failures are due to Unsupported overhangs, loose backing, material packing behind plates causing prying action, excessive impacts beyond design specs, poor quality control or improper installation.

Q: How to attach carbide wear plates on equipment?

A: Mechanical fastening with high grade alloy bolts allows removal or repositioning of individual plates. Welded overlays, tungsten inert gas (TIG) welding and metal spraying provide permanent fixation but no flexibility.

Q: What maintenance is needed for carbide lined equipment?

A: Beyond routine inspections, very minimal maintenance is needed owing to long service life. Individual plates can be replaced as they gradually wear out depending on thickness loss. This avoids costly downtime from complete replacements as needed with steel liners.

Conclusion

Engineered tungsten carbide plates deliver substantial performance and economic benefits in abrasion and impact service. With optimal upfront design considering wear patterns, mechanisms and desired life, they enable process equipment to handle extreme conditions exceeding the limits of regular steels. Their widespread adoption continues to grow as customers realize the high return on investment from reduced operating costs.

know more Tungsten carbide

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