Development of chromia forming Mo-W-Cr alloys: synthesis and characterization

The sintering process and microstructural characteristics of tungsten-based and molybdenum-based alloys containing chromium and group VIII metals as sintering agents have been investigated. The influences of the alloy composition, the nature of the sintering agent and the synthesis process on the microstructure and microhardness of these materials have been studied. Homogeneous alloys can be obtained with palladium or nickel as the sintering agent. The mechanisms are totally different with these two metals. In the case of nickel, diffusion of the refractory metals through a nickel layer is responsible for the densification of the alloys, whereas with palladium, a CrPd liquid phase at the grain boundaries leads to homogeneous sintering. Formation of the CrPd phase is directly dependent on the chromium content which influences the solubility of palladium in the MoW matrix. Consequently, a low chromium content leads to a high CrPd content, and to an increase in the grain size. On the contrary, with a nickel sintering agent, a high Ni content leads to an increase in thickness of the interdiffusion layer and thus a decrease in the grain size. Stresses generated by uniaxial sintering and mechanical alloying are not released during the annealing sequence and contribute to increase the microhardness of the alloys. Microhardness is also a strong function of the tungsten content. (C) 2002 Kluwer Academic Publishers.