  Iron is a candidate to replace cobalt in WC hardmetals, due to its lower cost
and toxicity. A WC-FeCr hardmetal was compression tested at 900-1200 {\deg}C.
Particular attention is paid to the steady-state creep rates and
stress-exponents (n) during isostress treatments. Three regimes of stress
dependence are observed. Two of these were previously reported for WC-Co: power
law creep (n~3) at medium stresses; and grain boundary sliding (n~1) at higher
stresses, generally >100MPa. A previously unreported low stress (<10MPa) regime
with an exponent of n~2 is also observed. By combining electron microscopy with
X-ray diffraction texture measurements, the low stress regime is attributed to
viscous flow of the binder, which is accommodated by diffusional creep in the
WC skeleton. The mechanism may be applicable to other hardmetals. Compared to
analogous WC-Co materials, WC-FeCr shows improved creep resistance below 1000
{\deg}C, which can be explained by its lower self-diffusivity, and a lower
solubility for WC than Co. However, at temperatures corresponding to liquid
eutectic formation (~1140 {\deg}C), its creep resistance becomes inferior.
These results indicate FeCr may be a suitable replacement for Co provided the
eutectic temperature is not exceeded.
