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ABSTRACT
The melting and casting of nickel-based powder metal matrix composites (MMCs) through microwave energy is carried out in the present work. The nickel powder was mixed with 5% and 10% volume fraction of the WC-8Co reinforcement powder and processed in a microwave oven at 2.45 GHz and 900 W. The developed castings revealed complete melting of the nickel powder within 25 minutes of microwave exposure. The processing mechanism of MMC castings through microwave is explained and the developed castings were subjected to the microstructure and mechanical characterizations. The results of XRD analysis revealed the formation of some hard intermetallics such as NiSi and Cr23C6. The back-scattered scanning electron microscopy images of castings microstructures revealed the formation of nearly equiaxed grains of the matrix. It was observed that WC particles within the matrix were in agglomerated patterns, which were randomly dispersed. The presence of hard phases of WC reinforcement and formed intermetallic carbides enhanced the microhardness (788 ± 52 HV) of the developed composites.