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Grain Growth in Dilute Tungsten Heavy Alloys during Liquid-Phase Sintering under Microgravity Conditions

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Abstract

Tungsten heavy alloys with compositions ranging from 35 to 93 wt pct tungsten were liquid-phase sintered at 1500 °C under microgravity conditions for isothermal hold times ranging from 1 to 600 minutes. The solid-volume fraction, grain size, grain size distribution, connectivity, and contiguity of the sintered microstructures were quantitatively measured. From these data, grain-growth-rate constants are determined for solid-volume fractions ranging from 0.048 to 0.858 and are compared to the predictions of several grain-coarsening models. The measured grain size distributions are shown to be self-similar and are fit to a Weibull distribution. Three-dimensional (3-D) grain size distributions from several coarsening models are transformed into grain size distributions for two-dimensional (2-D) cross sections, for comparison with the experimental data. Chi-squared tests and G-tests show that a coalescence model for grain growth fits the experimental observations better than solution-reprecipitation models, even for dilute tungsten heavy alloys.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration under continuing grants from 1985 to 2006.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. ATI Engineered Products, Huntsville, AL, 35806, USA

    John L. Johnson (R&D Director)

  2. Eaton Corporation, VI Technology, Horseheads, NY, 14845, USA

    Louis G. Campbell (R&D Engineer)

  3. Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems, Mississippi State University, Starkville, MS, 39759, USA

    Seong Jin Park (Associate Research Professor)

  4. College of Engineering, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA, 92182-1326, USA

    Randall M. German (Associate Dean)

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  1. John L. Johnson
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  2. Louis G. Campbell
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Correspondence to John L. Johnson.

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Manuscript submitted May 17, 2008.

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Johnson, J.L., Campbell, L.G., Park, S.J. et al. Grain Growth in Dilute Tungsten Heavy Alloys during Liquid-Phase Sintering under Microgravity Conditions. Metall Mater Trans A 40, 426–437 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11661-008-9745-5

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