Fabrication and Characterization of Tungsten Heavy Alloys Using Chemical Reduction and Mechanical Alloying Methods

Abstract

A novel reduction technique has been developed to synthesize nano-sized tungsten heavy alloys powders and compared with the same powders processed by mechanical alloying technique. In the first method, nano-sized tungsten heavy alloys powders have been obtained by reduction of precursors obtained by spray drying of several appropriate aqueous solutions, which were made from salts containing tungsten, cobalt, and nickel. By adjusting the stoichiometry of the component of the solutions, it is possible to obtain the desired chemical composition of the tungsten heavy alloys powders. In the second method, highly pure elemental powders of tungsten heavy alloys have been mechanically alloyed in a tumbler ball mill for different milling time. The investigated tungsten heavy alloy powders with the composition (95%W-3.5%Ni-1.5%Fe), (93%W-4.5%Ni-1.0%Fe-1.5%Co), and (90%W-6%Ni-4%Cu) have been prepared using both methods. The prepared powders have been compacted at 70 bar (200 MPa) and sintered in vacuum furnace at 1400℃. Vacuum sintering was carried out to achieve full densification of the produced tungsten heavy alloys. The investigated materials were going to be evaluated the physical and mechanical properties of the sintered parts such as density; electrical conductivity, hardness, and transverse rupture strength. The results reveal that, the grain size of alloys fabricated by chemical reduction technique (53.1 - 63.8 nm) is smaller than that fabricated by mechanical alloying technique (56.4 - 71.4 nm).