An investigation of the microstructure and properties of rolled W-Al2O3 alloy

Pure tungsten and tungsten alloys have been widely used in metallurgy, energy, chemical industry, aerospace, national defense, electronics and other fields. However, there are inevitably some problems in the use of the process, such as high deformation resistance in the forming process prone to crack and fracture, coarse grain and low bending strength problems. Al ₂O ₃ particles were added to improve the comprehensive properties of tungsten alloys. In this paper, the W-0.2 wt%Al ₂O ₃ tungsten alloy sheets with different thicknesses of 3 mm, 2 mm, and 1 mm were prepared by induction sintering combined with hot rolling. For comparison, the pure tungsten sheet with a thickness of 3 mm was fabricated by the same preparation process. Comparative assessments were made on the microstructure, hardness, and three-point bending properties across types of three thicknesses of W-Al ₂O ₃ sheets and pure tungsten sheet with a thickness of 3 mm. The outcomes demonstrate that the microstructure and properties of the tungsten alloy vary considerably depending on the applied rolling degree, which exerts a profound impact on the grain size, morphology, and distribution within the tungsten alloy matrix. Furthermore, the tungsten alloy consistently exhibits significant enhancements over pure tungsten. Characterization of the rolled tungsten alloy revealed that the incorporation of alumina contributes to a reduction in shear band formation and an improvement in texture strength, thereby substantiating its positive impact on the overall mechanical properties of the alloy.