SINTERING TIME AND ATMOSPHERE INFLUENCES ON THE MICROSTRUCTURE AND MECHANICAL-PROPERTIES OF TUNGSTEN HEAVY ALLOYS

The mechanical properties of tungsten heavy alloys are sensitive to the processing cycle and are adversely affected by residual porosity. Sintering times greater than 2 hours usually result in pore growth with degraded properties. The development of an optimized sintering atmosphere has allowed exploration of long sintering times without significant property degradation due to pore growth. The optimal cycle was used to sinter two heavy alloy compositions (88 and 95 wt pct W) for times up to 600 minutes at 1480-degrees-C. The 88 pct W samples slumped, but the 95 pct W samples were fully densified and suitable for tensile testing. At long sintering times, the tungsten grains flattened and the tungsten contiguity decreased, indicating a transition to low-energy configurations for the solid-liquid interfaces. The cube of the mean grain size varied linearly with the isothermal sintering time. This allowed determination of grain size effects on mechanical properties, showing a decreasing yield strength with increasing time in agreement with the Hall-Petch behavior. The tensile strength and elongation were highest for sintering times from 30 to 90 minutes, reflecting a minimum in the residual porosity.