Abstract

Ultrasonic-milling of metal oxide nanopowders for the preparation of tungsten heavy alloys was investigated. Milling time was selected as a major process variable. XRD results of metal oxide nanopowders ultrasonic-milled for 50 h and 100 h showed that agglomerate size reduced with increasing milling time and there was no evidence of contamination or change of composition by impurities. It was found that nanocomposite powders reduced at 800°C in a hydrogen atmosphere showed a chemical composition of 93.1W-4.9Ni-2.0Fe from EDS analysis. Hardness of sintered part using 50 h and 100 h powder samples was 399 Hv and 463 Hv, respectively, which is higher than the that of commercial products (330-340 Hv).

• Keywords: Tungsten heavy alloys;Ultrasonic-milling;Nanocomposite powder;