Development of tungsten-based materials by different sintering techniques

The effects of different sintering techniques on the densification, microstructure, and mechanical properties of tungsten-vanadium composites were investigated. The precursor powders were conventionally mixed with a combination of W-5 wt.%V in a blender and then sintered by three different sintering techniques. A good dense sample with the lowest porosity, and the highest bending strength and micro-hardness was obtained by hot-press sintering, reached up to 3.5%, 508.9 MPa and 589.8 HV0.2, respectively. Spark plasma sintering was beneficial to obtain more refined tungsten grains as compared to hot-press sintering and conventional sintering under hydrogen atmosphere. However, the insufficient sintering conditions of spark plasma sintering were not able to highly suppress the porosity, and thus the mechanical properties were inadequate in comparison with hot press sintering. The properties measured for hydrogen furnace sintered sample were very poor in all respects.