Superhard nanodisperse tungsten heavy alloys obtained using the methods of mechanical activation and spark plasma sintering

Abstract

We have studied the structure and mechanical properties of nanodisperse tungsten-based heavy alloys of the W-Ni-Fe system. The temperature dependence of the density of compacted alloys exhibits a nonmonotonic character with a maximum that corresponds to the optimum temperature of sintering. The effect of the regime of solid-state pulsed spark plasma sintering (SPS) on the structure and mechanical properties of mechanically activated W-Ni-Fe heavy alloys has been studied. It is established that, using preliminary mechanical activation in a planetary ball mill and the subsequent high-rate SPS, it is possible to obtain superhard tungsten-based heavy alloys with mechanical properties that substantially exceed those of the analogous standard alloys.