Tensile strength testing provides complementary information about tungsten carbide behaviour under direct tension.
Although flexural strength (TRS) is more commonly used for routine quality control, Langsun Carbide performs tensile tests for research, development and critical design validation where direct tensile loading is significant.
Tensile Testing Procedure
Tensile testing of hardmetals requires careful specimen design and test execution due to their brittle nature:
1.Specimen preparation
Special tensile specimens or standard bars are prepared from sintered material. Surfaces are ground and finished to minimise stress concentrations at shoulders and gauge sections.
2.Alignment and gripping
The specimen is mounted in a universal testing machine using fixtures that minimise bending and eccentric loading. Accurate alignment is critical to avoid premature failure.
3.Loading and measurement
Load is applied under controlled conditions until fracture. The ultimate tensile strength is calculated from the maximum load and cross-sectional area. In selected tests, displacement or strain may also be measured.
Because tungsten carbide is brittle, tensile tests are usually used for comparative and design purposes rather than for high-volume production control.
When Tensile Strength Data Adds Value
Tensile testing is particularly useful in the following situations:
● Critical tension-loaded components — long slender rods, structural inserts or components where tensile stresses dominate.
● Numerical simulations — input for finite element analysis (FEA) and advanced modelling of complex loading scenarios.
● Material development — evaluating new grades, binders or processing routes that may alter the stress–strain behaviour and fracture mode.
Tensile strength data is interpreted alongside TRS, impact toughness, hardness and microstructural observations to build a complete mechanical profile for each grade.
Langsun Carbide’s Approach to Tensile Testing
Tensile testing is integrated into our R&D and high-reliability qualification programmes:
● Selective application
Used primarily when it provides information beyond what TRS and impact tests already show.
● High-precision test execution
Strict control of specimen geometry, alignment and loading conditions to obtain meaningful, reproducible data.
● Integrated interpretation
Tensile results are always interpreted together with other mechanical and microstructural data to avoid misleading conclusions based on a single metric.
By offering tensile testing capability, Langsun Carbide supports customers who require detailed, engineering-grade material data for advanced design.
Indicative Tensile Strength Data (Reference Only)
The values below illustrate typical relative levels of tensile strength for representative WC–Co grades. They are approximate and used mainly for design comparison and simulation input.
|
Grade |
wCo/% |
Indicative Ultimate Tensile Strength (MPa) |
Relative Toughness |
Example Use Cases |
|
WC-6Co |
6 |
~700 – 900 |
Low to medium |
High-wear components where tensile loading is limited |
|
WC-11.5Co |
11.5 |
~800 – 1000 |
Medium |
General wear parts and rods subject to combined bending and tension |
|
WC-15Co |
15 |
~900 – 1100 |
Medium to high |
Structural inserts and components experiencing higher tensile stresses |
Note: These tensile strength values are indicative and may vary with grade design, processing route and test method. For design-critical projects, please request specific test data.