Effect of W particle size on mechanical properties of a tungsten heavy alloy

Preparing fine tungsten particles tungsten heavy alloys (WHAs) is a method to improve the susceptibility to adiabatic shear of WHAs. In this paper, W-AlCrFeNiV alloy (W-HEA) with different size W particles were prepared by laser ultrashort-time liquid phase sintering (LULPS) and liquid phase sintering (LPS). The effects of W particle size of W-HEA on mechanical property and susceptibility to adiabatic shear are studied. The results show that W-HEA with 3 μm W particles has excellent mechanical properties-tensile strength nearly 1500 MPa. The tensile strength is 58% higher than that W-HEA with 20 μm W particle. W-HEA with 3 μm W particle dynamic compression strength is 2200 MPa under 4000 s-1. The dynamic strength is 22% higher than that tungsten heavy alloy with 20 μm W particle. And the smaller W particles are, the stronger susceptibility to adiabatic shear is. The adiabatic shear band width of W-HEA with 3 μm W particles is 10 μm after dynamic compression.