Elemental W and Ni powders were mechanically alloyed in a SPEX mill with WC grinding media for durations ranging from 5 to 50 hours, then compacted samples were sintered in hydrogen to generate bulk tungsten heavy alloys with 2, 4 and 6 wt.% Ni. Evidence of a bimodal grain size distribution was seen in X-ray diffractograms of sintered samples and confirmed by scanning electron microscopy. Grain sizes in the small-grained regions ranged from 200–600 nm; those in the large-grained regions ranged from 1–2 µm. Furthermore, the volume fraction of the small-grained region increased linearly as milling time increased. A slice from a sintered sample was prepared for examination by TEM, in which particles 30–100 nm in diameter were regularly observed on the boundaries of the 200–600 nm grains. EDS point analysis showed that the particles are WC. Therefore it is concluded that heterogeneously distributed contamination from the grinding media is continually incorporated during mechanical alloying and, during sintering, inhibits grain growth through Zener pinning. Densities of sintered samples increased as milling time increased to a maximum of almost 96% of the theoretical value. Density increases with respect to milling time were initially great but diminished upon further milling. While the samples with 4 and 6 wt.% Ni both approached 96% of the theoretical density value by 50 hours of milling, densities in the samples with 2 wt.% Ni were considerably lower. Thus it appears that the Ni that becomes incorporated into the bcc W structure during mechanical alloying activates W diffusion during sintering, though there is a limit to the amount of Ni that the W structure can accommodate. This is evinced in W lattice parameter values from the as-milled powders; while the lattice parameter drops considerable from 2 to 4 wt.% Ni, the difference between 4 and 6 wt.% Ni is much smaller and the Ni content limit surely falls between the two values. Otherwise-equivalent samples with added WC powder were also produced, but did not increase the volume fraction of the small-grained region – probably because the particles remained large and were homogeneously distributed. / Ph. D.

Plane strain transient finite thermomechanical deformations of heat-conducting particulate composites comprised of circular tungsten particulates in nickel-iron matrix are analyzed using the finite element method to delineate the initiation and propagation of brittle/ductile failures by the nodal release technique. Each constituent and composites are modeled as strain hardening, strain-rate-hardening and thermally softening microporous materials. Values of material parameters of composites are derived by analyzing deformations of a representative volume element whose minimum dimensions are determined through numerical experiments. These values are found to be independent of sizes and random distributions of particulates, and are close to those obtained from either the rule of mixtures or micromechanics models. Brittle and ductile failures of composites are first studied by homogenizing their material properties; subsequently their ductile failure is analyzed by considering the microstructure. It is found that the continuously varying volume fraction of tungsten particulates strongly influences when and where adiabatic shear bands (ASB) initiate and their paths. Furthermore, an ASB initiates sooner in the composite than in either one of its constituents. We have studied the initiation and propagation of a brittle crack in a precracked plate deformed in plane strain tension, and a ductile crack in an infinitely long thin plate with a rather strong defect at its center and deformed in shear. The crack may propagate from the tungsten-rich region to nickel-iron-rich region or vice-a-versa. It is found that at the nominal strain-rate of 2000/s the brittle crack speed approaches Rayleigh's wave speed in the tungsten-plate, the nickel-iron-plate shatters after a small extension of the crack, and the composite plate does not shatter; the minimum nominal strain-rate for the nickel-iron-plate to shatter is 1130/s. The ductile crack speed from tungsten-rich to tungsten-poor regions is nearly one-tenth of that in the two homogeneous plates. The maximum speed of a ductile crack in tungsten and nickel-iron is found to be about 1.5 km/s. Meso and multiscale analyses have revealed that microstructural details strongly influence when and where ASBs initiate and their paths. ASB initiation criteria for particulate composites and their homogenized counterparts are different. / Ph. D.