Influence of particle characteristics on mechanical properties of particle reinforced tungsten alloys

The manufacturing processing and the mechanical properties of particle reinforced metal matrix composites are strongly dependent on their microstructural characteristics. In this research, 3D models in microscale of tungsten alloys reinforced by Zr(Y)O2 particles (W-Zr(Y)O2) were established to investigate their uniaxial compression deformation behaviours. The effects of particles contents, size and their distribution on the compressive properties of W-Zr(Y)O2 alloy were discussed. The mechanical behaviours of the reinforced W alloys were improved by increasing the content of Zr(Y)O2 particles. With the same particles content, the strength of the reinforced alloys increased with smaller size particles. With the same particle size and content, the stress concentration was reduced with more homogeneous distribution of the reinforced particles. The predicted strengths with 3D models are compared with the experiment data, which exhibits high prediction accuracy.