Effect of dispersed particles on microstructure evolution and mechanical properties of 93W–4.6Ni–2.1Fe–0.3Co alloys

Abstract

93W–4.6Ni–2.1Fe–0.3Co alloys reinforced by ZrC particles were prepared by the two-step sintering method in this article. The conventional sintering process conducted at a temperature of 1485 °C resulted in the formation of microvoids between the larger dispersed particles and the matrix, thereby leading to a degradation in the tensile property (959 MPa/11.5%). Through controlling the sintering temperature at 1440 °C, a dispersion-strengthened tungsten heavy alloys (WHAs) with excellent comprehensive tensile properties (974 MPa/27.0%) was obtained, mainly attributed to the synergistic effect of homogeneous dispersion strengthening and grain boundary purification. Under high compressive strain rates, dispersion-strengthened WHA demonstrates a superior yield strength compared to WHA, suggesting that dispersion-strengthened WHAs have potential applications in the armour-piercing field.