Tensile properties of tungsten/glass composites at elevated temperatures

The quasi-static tensile behavior of tungsten/glass composites containing 40–50 vol% tungsten at elevated temperatures in the range of 550–750 °C was investigated. Results show that the composites present absolute brittleness at temperatures up to 650 °C while exhibit brittle-to-ductile transition in the temperature range of 650–700 °C and super-plasticity at 750 °C due to the decreasing viscosity of glass matrix. The strength of the composites declines with the increase of tungsten content at temperatures lower than 650 °C and increases with increasing the volume fraction of tungsten at 750 °C. In the temperatures between 650 and 700 °C, 55BH/45W exhibits the highest strength while 60BH/40W presents the lowest one. The elongations of the composites reduce with increasing tungsten content at 750 °C because of the amount of W/W and W/G interfaces increasing. In addition, the effects of temperature and tungsten content on the deformation and fracture mechanism of the composite were analyzed.