Effect of Co leaching on the vertical turning lathe wear properties of polycrystalline diamond compact manufactured by high temperature and high pressure sintering process

Polycrystalline diamond compact (PDC) has excellent wear resistance, high impact resistance, superior fatigue properties, and has been used in the oil and gas drilling industries. This study investigated the effect of Co leaching on the microstructure, vertical turning lathe (VTL) wear properties of PDCs manufactured by high-temperature and high-pressure (HTHP) sintering. The VTL wear test has the advantage of simulating the actual oil drilling environment by using granite as the workpiece. PDC sintered material that did not receive Co leaching was named HTHP sintered PDC-A, and the material subjected to Co leaching was called Co-leached PDC-B in this study. As a result of XRD analysis of both PDCs, diamond and WC peaks were detected, and only the HTHP sintered PDC-A exhibited some Co peaks. In the HTHP sintered PDC-A, the binder WC and Co were evenly distributed at the diamond interface. However, in the Co-leached PDC-B, some empty spaces were observed at the diamond interface. The HTHP sintered PDC-A exhibited a similar or slightly higher VTL wear resistance than the Co-leached PDC-B, but only in the short sliding distance. In the long sliding distance after 9 km, Co-leached PDC-B showed significantly superior wear resistance compared to the HTHP sintered PDC-A. The HTHP sintered PDC-A exhibited both abrasive and adhesive wear behaviors, while the Co-leached PDC-B showed only abrasive wear. Based on the above results, the VTL wear mechanism of PDCs, and ways of improving wear resistance were also discussed.