Study on the fracture behavior of W-Ni-Fe heavy alloys

The fracture behaviors of tungsten alloys 91W-6.3Ni-2.7Fe were investigated by tensile tests and numerical simulations. Firstly, tensile tests were conducted on the S-570 SEM with an in-situ tensile stage. With this system, the process of deformation, damage and evolution in micro-area can be tracked and recorded, and at the same time, the load-strain curve can be drawn. Secondly, the 2D finite element model of a unit cell for the tungsten alloys was established by using finite element program. By copying the unit cell model, the macro-model of the alloys was given. Dozen of cases were performed to simulate the fracture behaviors of tungsten alloys. Thirdly, the random model of the alloys was established. The fracture patterns of the alloys were investigated by the model. The interface between the tungsten particle and the matrix was explored in details. The effect of interface strength on the fracture patterns of the alloys was taken into account. A good agreement was achieved between the experimental results and the numerical predictions.