About this Abstract |
| Meeting |
2026 TMS Annual Meeting & Exhibition
|
| Symposium
|
Accelerated Qualification Methods for Nuclear Reactor Structural Materials
|
| Presentation Title |
Spark Plasma Sintering of Dispersion Strengthened Tungsten Alloys for Fusion |
| Author(s) |
Cristian Ivan Urias |
| On-Site Speaker (Planned) |
Cristian Ivan Urias |
| Abstract Scope |
Tungsten composites are promising materials for plasma-facing components due to their ability to retain strength at extreme temperatures and superior mechanical properties compared to state-of-the-art materials, typically a pure W layer bonded to structural alloys like reduced-activation ferritic-martensitic steels. This study explores the additions of Cr and metal oxides (TiC, ZrC and YSZ) to a W matrix to enhance its strength and fracture toughness. The incorporation of these elements and phases using Spark Plasma Sintering of mechanically-alloyed starting powder blends. It was determined that microhardness doubles due to solid-solution strengthening in the W-10Cr alloys compared to SPS pure W, and SPS decreases the oxygen ppm due to formation of Cr-O in W-10Cr alloys. Furthermore, the metal oxide precipitates remain small and act as oxide dispersion strengthening phases at grain boundaries contributing to the improved performance of the alloys. Surface-based characterization methods will also be presented to determine processing-structure-property relations. |
| Proceedings Inclusion? |
Planned: |
| Keywords |
Characterization, Mechanical Properties, Nuclear Materials |