On chemical and diffusional interactions between PCBN and superalloy Inconel 718: Imitational experiments

During a metal cutting process, chemical wear can become the dominant mechanism of tool degradation under the high temperatures and contact pressures that arise between the tool and the metal workpiece. This study focuses on the chemical and diffusional interactions between superalloy Inconel 718 and cubic boron nitride (cBN) tool material with and without TiC binder. It covers thermodynamic modeling and experimental tests in the pressure range of 0.1 Pa to 2.5 GPa at temperatures up to 1600 °C. The methods used include diffusion couples under both vacuum and high pressure, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis and in-situ synchrotron observations. It is shown that cBN is prone to diffusional dissolution in the metal and to reactions with niobium, molybdenum, and chromium from Inconel 718. Adding TiC binder changes the overall degradation process because it is less susceptible to these interaction mechanisms.