Enhancement of Physical and Mechanical Properties of Oxide Dispersion-Strengthened Tungsten Heavy Alloys

Abstract

Oxide dispersion-strengthened (ODS) tungsten heavy alloys are well known for their excellent mechanical properties which make them useful for a wide range of high-temperature applications. In this investigation, microstructural, magnetic, and mechanical properties of W-5 wt pct Ni alloys reinforced with 2 wt pct Y2O3, ZrO2 or TiO2 particles were investigated. Cold-pressed samples were sintered under vacuum at 1773 K (1500 °C) for 1 hour. The results show that, among three kinds of oxides, Y2O3 is the most efficient oxide to consolidate W powder by sintering. W-Ni-Y2O3 alloys form relatively uniform interconnected structure and also show higher density and compressive strength than those of W-Ni-ZrO2 and W-Ni-TiO2. On the other hand, W-Ni-TiO2 and W-Ni-ZrO2 alloys have non-homogeneous microstructure due to the formation of Ni globules in some areas in the matrix and almost nickel-free zones in other areas causing the appearance of pores. The Vickers hardness values for W-Ni-TiO2 alloys are slightly higher than those of W-Ni-ZrO2 and Ni-W-Y2O3 due to the smaller particle size of TiO2 than the other oxides. At room temperature, the investigated alloys have very weak magnetic properties. This is due to the combination of the ferromagnetic nickel metal binder with the non-magnetic tungsten forming the weak magnetic W-Ni solid solution. Moreover, the measured (mass) magnetizations had small values of the power of 10−3 emu/g. Additionally, the values of coercivity (H C) and remanence (M r) for the W-Ni-TiO2 alloy were higher than that of the W-Ni-Y2O3 and W-Ni-ZrO2 alloys due to the particle size effect of TiO2 nanoparticles.