The effect of various factors on the strength of hard-alloy balls

Conclusions

The compressive strength of hard-alloy balls depends mainly on the peening regimes; it is therefore necessary to inspect the products thoroughly at the given production stage.

The mechanical strength of hard-alloy balls with a hole depends substantially on the orientation of the hole relative to the axis of loading: when the hole is oriented parallel to the axis of load application, the compressive strength of the balls is about 3.5 times higher than that of balls with arbitrary orientation of the holes.

Additional heat treatment of specimens increases their mechanical strength on an average by 12–18%.

The strength of the balls depends to a considerable extent on their surface roughness.