Performance of fine-grained W/Cu plate prepared by explosive welding with high wave impedance confinement at room temperature

Abstract Due to the brittleness and high melting point of tungsten (W), it remains a challenge to clad tungsten layers non-destructively by an explosive welding process at low temperatures. In this study, the tungsten foil was successfully welded to a copper plate by a high wave impedance constraint explosive welding method without cracks. Electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) and energy dispersion spectroscopy (EDS) analyses detected that the tungsten clad characterized a lamellar structure of several hundred nanometers with homogeneous elemental distribution and smooth surface. The tungsten layer maintains continuity and high hardness regardless of the cross-sectional view, and exhibits a unique wave-like bond of high strength with copper. The tensile strength of the tungsten/copper composite plate is about 391 MPa and the elongation is more than 12%. The results show that the high wave impedance constrained explosive welding method is an effective process for producing nanoscale brittle material coatings at room temperature.