Structure/Property Relationships in Sintered Heavy Alloys

Abstract The microstructural characteristics of liquid-phase sintered tungsten heavy alloys are described. These include considerations of porosity, tungsten: binder phase ratio, tungsten grain size, shape and contiguity, as well as the grain boundaries and interphase boundaries. Precipitation in both the tungsten grains and the binder matrix phase, and at the microstructural interfaces, is considered in some detail because of its undoubted importance to strength and toughness. The influence of trace impurities, both to precipitation and to interface segregation, is also discussed.