Granted Patent B2

US 12,649,963 · App. 17/760,483 · Granted Jun 9, 2026

Inventors: Zhongming Wang (Houston, TX); Andy Bell (Conroe, TX); Zhe Zhang (Houston, TX); Bob Horswell (Cypress, TX); James Nathaniel Vecchio (San Diego, CA); Justin Lee Cheney (San Diego, CA); Roland Facundo (Splendora, TX)

Assignee: Oerlikon Metco (US) Inc.

C22C29/08B22F1/05B22F1/065B22F3/004C01B32/949C22C29/005B22F2005/001B22F2302/10

Abstract

Claims (46)

1 . A powder blend comprising fused tungsten carbide particles, wherein the fused tungsten carbide particles comprise:

a spheroidal shape having a ratio of a first length along a major axis to a second length along a minor axis of 1.2 or lower;

a textured external surface comprising a grain boundary area fraction greater than 5%; and

an external surface composition comprising fused tungsten carbide.

2 . The powder blend of claim 1 , further comprising metallic tungsten particles.

3 . The powder blend of claim 1 , wherein the textured external surface comprises a needle-like topography.

4 . The powder blend of claim 3 , wherein the needle-like topography comprises needle-like structures elongated along surfaces of the tungsten carbide particles, wherein at least some of the needle-like structures comprise a portion having a width not exceeding 1 μm.

5 . The powder blend of claim 4 , wherein at least some of the needle-like structures further comprise a ratio of a longest length to a smallest width that exceeds 2.

6 . The powder blend of claim 1 , wherein the powder blend is configured to form a metal-matrix composite (MMC) material comprising the fused tungsten carbide particles embedded in a matrix.

7 . The powder blend of claim 6 , wherein the matrix comprises copper or a copper alloy.

8 . The powder blend of claim 6 , wherein the MMC material has a Weibull modulus of 15 or greater.

9 . The powder blend of claim 6 , wherein the MMC material has a linear extrapolation of a Weibull plot to a 1 in 10,000 probability of failure that equates to an applied stress of 80 ksi or greater.

10 . The powder blend of claim 6 , wherein the MMC material has a high-pressure abrasive waterjet erosive volume loss of 0.1 cm 3 or lower.

11 . The powder blend of claim 6 , wherein the MMC material has an ASTM 611 volume loss of 1 cm 3 or lower.

12 . The powder blend of claim 1 , wherein the fused tungsten carbide particles comprise an average particle size of 1-200 μm.

13 . The powder blend of claim 1 , wherein the fused tungsten carbide particles comprise a fused tungsten carbide internal microstructure.

14 . The powder blend of claim 1 , wherein the fused tungsten carbide particles comprise a fused tungsten carbide particle composition consisting essentially of fused tungsten carbide.

15 . The powder blend of claim 1 , wherein the fused tungsten carbide particles comprise a specific density of about 16.5 g/cm 3 .

16 . The powder blend of claim 1 , wherein the fused tungsten carbide particles comprise a micro-hardness of about 2700-3300 HV.

17 . The powder blend of claim 1 , wherein the fused tungsten carbide particles comprise a fused tungsten carbide particle composition comprising:

carbon: about 3.7-4.2 wt. %; and

tungsten: balance.

18 . The powder blend of claim 1 , wherein the fused tungsten carbide particles comprise an internal composition comprising fused tungsten carbide.

19 . The powder blend of claim 18 , wherein the external surface composition and the internal composition each independently comprise:

carbon: about 3.7-4.2 wt. %; and

tungsten: balance.

20 . The powder blend of claim 18 , wherein the external surface composition and the internal composition are substantially the same.

21 . The powder blend of claim 1 , wherein the fused tungsten carbide particles have at least one of:

a D50 between 1 μm and 10 μm;

a D50 between 11 μm and 20 μm;

a D50 between 21 μm and 40 μm;

a D50 between 41 μm and 60 μm;

a D50 between 61 μm and 80 μm;

a D50 between 81 μm and 100 μm; and

a D50 between 101 μm and 200 μm.

22 . The powder blend of claim 1 , wherein the fused tungsten carbide particles comprise a first D50 particle size distribution of 41-80 μm, and a second D50 particle size distribution of 61-200 μm.

23 . A method of forming a metal-matrix composite (MMC) material, the method comprising:

adding the powder blend of claim 1 into a mold;

adding a binder material comprising copper into the mold;

melting the binder material to infiltrate the fused tungsten carbide particles; and

solidifying the molten binder material to form the MMC material.

24 . The method of claim 23 , wherein the fused tungsten carbide particles comprise the grain boundary area fraction of at least 10%.

25 . The method of claim 23 , wherein the MMC material has a Weibull modulus of 15 or greater.

26 . The method of claim 23 , wherein a linear extrapolation to a 1 in 10,000 probability of failure for the MMC material equates to 80 ksi or greater.

27 . The method of claim 23 , wherein the MMC material has a transverse rupture strength of at least 140 ksi.

28 . The method of claim 23 , wherein the method comprises forming the MMC material as part of a high strength drill bit, wherein the method further comprises adding steel components into the mold, and wherein melting the binder material comprises at least partially encompassing the steel component.

Assignments (1)

Continuity (2)

References Cited (400)