Polycrystalline compacts including diamond nanoparticles, cutting elements and earth- boring tools including such compacts, and methods of forming same

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10279454-B2
Application number	US-201313839589-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 15, 2013
Priority date	Mar 15, 2013
Publication date	May 7, 2019
Grant date	May 7, 2019

Abstract

A polycrystalline compact includes a plurality of diamond grains of micron size, submicron size, or both, and a plurality of diamond nanoparticles disposed in interstitial spaces between the plurality of diamond grains. A method of forming a polycrystalline compact includes combining a plurality of micron and/or submicron-sized diamond grains and a plurality of diamond nanoparticles to form a mixture and sintering the mixture in a presence of a carburized binder to form a polycrystalline hard material having a plurality of inter-bonded diamond grains and diamond nanoparticles. Cutting elements including a polycrystalline compact and earth-boring tools bearing such compacts are also disclosed.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method of fabricating polycrystalline diamond, comprising:
saturating a Group VIII-A metal or metal alloy with carbon and forming a carburized binder, the carburized binder including the Group VIII-A metal or metal alloy having a concentration of carbon beyond a carbon-saturation limit for the Group VIII-A metal or metal alloy at room temperature and pressure conditions;
mixing micron-sized diamond grains and diamond nanoparticles with the carburized binder to form a mixture;
encapsulating the mixture of micron-sized diamond grains, diamond nanoparticles, and carburized binder in a canister; and
after saturating the Group VIII-A metal or metal alloy with carbon and forming the carburized binder and mixing the micron-sized diamond grains, diamond nanoparticles, and carburized binder, subjecting the encapsulated mixture of micron-sized diamond grains, diamond nanoparticles, and carburized binder to a pressure of at least 5.0 GPa and a temperature of at least 1000° C. to form polycrystalline diamond having inter-granular bonds between the micron-sized diamond grains and the diamond nanoparticles and carburized binder between the micron-sized diamond grains and the diamond nanoparticles.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein mixing the micron-sized diamond grains and the diamond nanoparticles with the carburized binder comprises at least partially filling a volume between the micron-sized diamond grains and the diamond nanoparticles with the carburized binder.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising leaching at least a portion of the carburized binder from the polycrystalline diamond.

4. A method of fabricating a polycrystalline diamond cutting element, comprising:
saturating a Group VIII-A metal or metal alloy with carbon to form a carburized binder, the carburized binder including the Group VIII-A metal or metal alloy having a concentration of carbon beyond a carbon-saturation limit for the Group VIII-A metal or metal alloy at room temperature and pressure conditions;
mixing micron-sized diamond grains and diamond nanoparticles with the carburized binder to form a mixture;
encapsulating a substrate blank adjacent to the mixture of micron-sized diamond grains, diamond nanoparticles, and the carburized binder in a canister;
after saturating the Group VIII-A metal or metal alloy with carbon and forming the carburized binder and mixing the micron-sized diamond grains, diamond nanoparticles, and carburized binder, subjecting the encapsulated mixture of micron-sized diamond grains, diamond nanoparticles, and the carburized binder in the presence of the substrate blank in the canister to a pressure of at least 5.0 GPa and a temperature of at least 1000° C. and forming polycrystalline diamond having inter-granular bonds between the micron-sized diamond grains and the diamond nanoparticles having carburized binder therebetween on the substrate blank.

5. The method of claim 4 , further comprising leaching at least a portion of the carburized binder from the polycrystalline diamond.

6. The method of claim 4 , wherein the substrate blank comprises a diamond-enhanced carbide substrate.

7. The method of claim 4 , wherein the substrate blank comprises a cobalt-cemented tungsten carbide substrate.

8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising encapsulating a substrate blank in the canister.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the substrate blank comprises a diamond-enhanced carbide substrate.

10. The method of claim 8 , wherein the substrate blank comprises a cobalt-cemented tungsten carbide substrate.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the Group VIII-A metal or metal alloy comprises at least one of iron, cobalt, and nickel.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein subjecting the encapsulated mixture of micron-sized diamond grains, diamond nanoparticles, and carburized binder to a pressure of at least 5.0 GPa and a temperature of at least 1000° C. to form polycrystalline diamond comprises converting excess carbon of the carburized binder to diamond.

Assignees

• Baker Hughes Inc
• Element Six Ltd

Inventors

• Digiovanni Anthony A
• Nilen Roger William Nigel

Classifications

• B22F1/054

  Nanosized particles · CPC title

• E21B10/573

  characterised by support details, e.g. the substrate construction or the interface between the substrate and the cutting element · CPC title

• C04B2235/5454

  nanometer sized, i.e. below 100 nm · CPC title

• C04B2235/5436

  micrometer sized, i.e. from 1 to 100 micron · CPC title

• C04B35/528

  obtained from carbonaceous particles with or without other non-organic components · CPC title