Metric mapping: A color coded atlas for guiding rapid development of novel cermets and its application to "green" WC binder

Highlights: • A screening process was developed for the design of novel binder alloys in liquid phase sintered cermets using a combination of thermodynamic and analytical models for composition dependence; heretofore unexamined criteria include capillary flow, viscosity, and surface tension • Replacement of Co WC cermet is explored - the initial alloy composition space is reduced to 27% of the initial design space. Mathematical models in process engineering are becoming an essential part of accelerated materials by design, drastically shortening time to discovery by minimizing the vast experimental matrix. In this paper a combination of thermodynamic and analytical models have been used to develop an algorithm for visually guiding the rapid design of a nontoxic (cobalt free) liquid metal binder for WC based cermets. A method based on rapid screening method of key processing parameters is developed that significantly reduces the design space (here, to 27% of the initial alloy composition space). The parameters included represent heretofore unexamined considerations such as chemistry effects on capillary flow, viscosity, surface tension, and melting point which are less computationally intensive than the traditional thermodynamic modeling used in this problem to date. The results are presented in a series of easy to interpret atlases that enable quick identification of systems of interest for further study.