Properties of tungsten heavy alloys, prepared by spark-plasma sintering

In this paper the effect of spark-plasma sintering parameters on the microstructure and mechanical properties of tungsten heavy alloys VNZHK-90 and VNZHK-93 are studied. The basic dependences of the density and strength characteristics from the sintering temperature and velocity are shown. Conclusions about the dependence of the method of preparation of the starting powders on the microstructure of alloys are formulated. It was found that by spark-plasma sintering technique it is possible to achieve the theoretical density of compact heavy alloys during solid-phase sintering. It is shown that the maximum level of alloys mechanical properties is observed when sintering temperature 1300 degrees C. It is found that the change in the rate of heating does not contribute to change in the density of the samples. At the same time, on the mechanical properties the shrinkage rate has a significant effect.