Effects of micro-sized TiC on the cracking behavior of additively manufactured tungsten

In this study, the effects of the addition of TiC micro-sized particles on the printability of tungsten via Laser-Based Powder Bed Fusion are presented. Micrographic analyses were carried out on pure tungsten and W-TiC samples to study the evolution of the microstructure. It is well known that additively manufactured tungsten has a high cracking tendency due to the rapid solidification rate during the process, and the intrinsic brittleness of the grain boundaries. The addition of titanium carbide helped to reduce the cracks within the material, and microcracks were completely eliminated. However, some segregation areas of titanium were noticed, and this phenomenon is strongly correlated to the formation of voids in the metal.