New Impact test method for rock drill inserts

Sammanfattning: This work has been performed at the Applied Materials ScienceDivision at The Ångström Laboratory in collaboration with SandvikMining AB. The project is part of the joint research programmeCoFree.In this work, the problem of finding an impact test method forcemented carbide rock drill inserts is considered. A suitable testmethod is required to benchmark alternative binder cemented carbidesagainst today’s cobalt based grades. The developed test method isbased on a Charpy pendulum arrangement and utilizes, as in rockdrilling, impact of cylindrical bars to achieve the high impact forcesufficient to fracture the rock drill inserts. The impact issymmetrical with two inserts facing each other, which proves to be anefficient way of damaging the inserts. To gain more informationregarding the force and pulse duration, the history of the impact isrecorded with the use of strain gauges. The measured force curvesfrom repeated tests are typically very similar, a strong indicationthat the test loads the buttons in a well-defined, repeatable way.Also, quasi-static loading of the insert is present in the impactwhich agrees to the results from a static compression test. Thisindicates that the inserts are subjected to quasi-static loading,rather than dynamic loading.A single impact test procedure was developed in this work. Thismethodology proved capable of differentiating the impact performanceof two different button cemented carbide grades. Hence, the test canbe used in the future as a benchmark test. It is however necessary toobtain statistical evidence. The impact performance was measured byobserving cracks produced in the impact contact zone with the aid ofan optical microscope with 85x objective. Radial cracks are veryoften found, often forming a cross around the contact zone. Whenlarge button chippings occur due to the impact loading, a very clearsudden drop in the measured force pulse is seen. This is however notseen for impacts that only produces cracks.