Effect of Cr and Sc on High-Temperature Stability of Grain Structure in W-Based Alloys

doi:10.11900/0412.1961.2024.00052

Acta Metall Sin

2025, Vol. 61

Issue (11): 1664-1672 DOI: 10.11900/0412.1961.2024.00052

Research paper

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Effect of Cr and Sc on High-Temperature Stability of Grain Structure in W-Based Alloys

DU Wenli, HOU Chao(

), LI Yurong, HAN Tielong, SONG Xiaoyan(

)

Key Laboratory of Advanced Functional Materials, Ministry of Education, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, China

Cite this article:

DU Wenli, HOU Chao, LI Yurong, HAN Tielong, SONG Xiaoyan. Effect of Cr and Sc on High-Temperature Stability of Grain Structure in W-Based Alloys. Acta Metall Sin, 2025, 61(11): 1664-1672.

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Abstract

W-based alloys play an indispensable role in various fields, such as aerospace and nuclear industries. However, their thermal stability decreases with grain structure refinement, limiting their high-temperature applications. Although certain solute elements can enhance thermal stability through phase separation or grain boundary segregation, a systematic research on the extent of grain structure stabilization and the mechanisms of multicomponent addition is lacking. Herein, ultrafine-grained W-10Cr and W-5Cr-5Sc alloys with uniform grain structures and similar average grain sizes were prepared. The thermal stabilities of these W-based alloys were systematically investigated to elucidate their stabilization mechanisms. Results indicate that sudden grain growth occurs at approximately 1300 ^oC in W-10Cr and W-5Cr-5Sc alloys, representing an increase of approximately 200 ^oC compared with pure W. Kinetic analysis shows that the grain growth index and activation energy for grain growth are minimized at temperatures corresponding to thermal destabilization. Moreover, the grain growth indices of W-10Cr and W-5Cr-5Sc alloys exceed those of pure W during thermal instability. Furthermore, beyond the thermal destabilization threshold, the grain growth rate of the W-5Cr-5Sc alloy was lower than that of the W-10Cr alloy. The addition of Sc modifies the Cr distribution in the alloy. In the W-10Cr alloy, the high-temperature stabilization mechanism of the grain structure was attributed to the precipitation of Cr-rich phases and the segregation of Cr at the grain boundaries. By contrast, the stabilization mechanism in the W-5Cr-5Sc alloy shifts toward the precipitation of Sc-rich phases along with the simultaneous segregation of Cr and Sc at the grain boundaries.

Key words: W-based alloy thermal stability grain growth kinetics grain boundary segregation

Received: 28 February 2024

ZTFLH:

TG132.3

Fund: National Natural Science Foundation of China(92163107);National Natural Science Foundation of China(52371128)

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	DU Wenli
	HOU Chao
	LI Yurong
	HAN Tielong
	SONG Xiaoyan

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https://www.ams.org.cn/EN/10.11900/0412.1961.2024.00052 OR https://www.ams.org.cn/EN/Y2025/V61/I11/1664

Fig.1 XRD spectra of pure W, W-10Cr, and W-5Cr-5Sc sintered alloys

Fig.2 SEM images (a, c, e) and distributions of grain size (b, d, f) of pure W (a, b), W-10Cr (c, d), and W-5Cr-5Sc (e, f) sintered alloys

Fig.3 SEM images of pure W (a-d), W-10Cr (e-h), and W-5Cr-5Sc (i-l) alloys after heat treatment at 1000 ^oC (a, e, i), 1100 ^oC (b, f, j), 1200 ^oC (c, g, k), and 1300 ^oC (d, h, l) for 2 h

Fig.4 Grain sizes of pure W, W-10Cr, and W-5Cr-5Sc alloys after sintering and heat treatment at different temperatures for 2 h

Fig.5 Linear fitting of ln(D / D₀) with respect to lnt for pure W (a), W-10Cr (b), and W-5Cr-5Sc (c) under isothermal heat treatment at different temperatures (D—grain size after heat treatment, D₀—original grain size of sintered alloy, t—duration of heat treatment)

Table 1 Grain growth indexes (n) and activation energies for grain growth(Q) of pure W, W-10Cr, and W-5Cr-5Sc alloys at different temperatures (T)

Fig.6 Linear fitting of ln(D / D₀) with respect to T^-1 for pure W, W-10Cr, and W-5Cr-5Sc alloys after heat treatment at different temperatures for 2 h

Fig.7 TEM image (a) and corresponding EDS elemental distribution maps of W (b) and Cr (c) of W-10Cr sintered alloy

Fig.8 High magnified TEM image of W-10Cr sintered alloy (a) and EDS elemental distribution maps of W (b) and Cr (c) of rectangle area in Fig.8a (c) (Circles in Fig.8a represent Cr-rich nanoparticles located at the grain boundaries)

Fig.9 TEM image (a) and corresponding EDS elemental distribution maps of W (b), Cr (c), and Sc (d) of W-5Cr-5Sc sintered alloy (Circles in Fig.9a represent nanoparticles located at the triple grain boundaries)

Fig.10 TEM image of the triple junction grain boundaries of W-5Cr-5Sc sintered alloy (a), EDS element maps of W (b), Cr (c), and Sc (d), and EDS line scan along arrow in Fig.10a (e)

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