Particulate-Reinforced Tungsten Heavy Alloy/Yttria-Stabilized Zirconia Composites Sintered Through Spark Plasma Sintering

The current work investigates the mechanical properties of W–Ni–Fe tungsten heavy alloy (WHA) composites reinforced with 0.25, 0.5, 0.75 and 1.0 wt% of yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ). The composites were fabricated through spark plasma sintering (SPS) technique. Detailed microstructural characterization of the sintered samples, including contiguity, grain size and matrix volume fraction, was carried out. It was found that the W–W contiguity was decreasing with increasing amount of YSZ. Hardness and yield strength of the sintered samples were found to be decreasing with the increasing amount of YSZ. The WHA with 0.25 wt% YSZ exhibited the highest mechanical properties among all compositions chosen for this study. Fractography revealed W–W intergranular fracture indicating a brittle mode failure.