Microstructure and properties of tungsten heavy alloys fabricated by laser direct deposition

In this paper, tungsten heavy alloys (THAs) were fabricated by laser direct deposition technology. The phase composition, microstructure and the influences of Fe and Co content on the properties of THAs were investigated. The results showed that the laser deposition layers were composed by W, Ni₄W and Ni, fine and dense columnar crystals were distributed between non-melting W particles. The direction of crystals growth nearly paralleled the deposition direction at the bottom of deposition layers and nearly paralleled the scanning direction at the top. Both Fe and Co could increase the tensile strength of THAs and the elongation of W–Ni–Co alloys was higher than W–Ni–Fe alloys.