This report describes the density, strength, toughness and ductility variations of Tungsten Base Composites.
Composites of tungsten with additional nickel and iron (91.3-95.5%W/5.8-3.0%Ni/2.9-1.5%Fe) were fabricated by liquid phase sintering of well-grained powder (-2 μm) at 1460-1500°C in a hydrogen atmosphere.
The microstructure of liquid sintered Tungsten Base Composites consists of rounded and single crystal tungsten grains in a binder.
In order to investigate the deformation and fracture behavior of sintered Tungsten Base Composites, metallographic and fractographic examinations were performed in terms of tension test, K1c test and Charpy impact test.
Mechanical properties of the Tungsten Base Composites are as follows:
(1) The tensile strength, hardness and toughness are increased with the increase of W content and swaging rates. On the contrary, the elongation is decreased with increasing W content and swaging rates.
(2) The mechanical properties of the heavy alloys are governed by the binding energy between the tungsten-matrix phases. The weaker this binding energy is, the lower the ductility to failure. In heavy alloys the maximum elongation depends strongly upon its contiguity.