The design and selection of tungsten carbide-based composite overlays for aggressive wear service conditions

The Albertan oil sands surface mining industry recovers and processes large quantities of ore to remove the bitumen from the oil sands. The scale of the operations and the abrasive nature of the ore results in very aggressive wear conditions. The high levels of abrasive and impact wear can lead to equipment reliability issues, with associated costs and lost production. As such, it is common to augment the durability of mining components by the application of wear-resistant materials. For critical equipment tungsten carbide-based composite overlays are commonly selected to improve reliability and extend service life. The performance of the overlay is very much dependent on the service conditions. This paper will describe how the selection of tungsten carbide-type can determine the performance of a composite overlay in a range of abrasive and impact wear conditions. The paper will demonstrate how the effective selection of the composite to match the expected service conditions can improve the durability of mining equipment.