The plastic deformation behavior of cemented carbides is related to the WC grain boundary strength. Ab initio calculations predict that Co and Mn segregate to WC/WC grain boundaries. To experimentally study the effect of Mn, a WC-Co-Mn material was manufactured and compared to a WC-Co material. The microstructure was studied using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), including electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD). Special attention was paid to the WC grain size and the frequency of special low-energy grain boundaries. Mn was found to have negligible effect on both the WC grain growth and the fraction of WC/WC boundaries in the as-sintered material.

The solubility of Cr in cubic carbides in the systems WC-Co-TaC and WC-Co-ZrC has been determined using equilibrium samples. Thermodynamic calculations were used to design the alloys through extrapolations of Gibbs energy expressions. The alloys were designed to have a microstructure containing the following phases: WC, liquid, , graphite and cubic carbide. The alloys were investigated using scanning electron microscopy and analyzed using energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry. The present work shows how the Cr solubility depends on which cubic carbide former that is present. The WC-Co-Cr-Zr alloy has no detectable amount of Cr whereas the WC-Co-Cr-Ta alloy has 12% Cr in the cubic carbide.