A study on feasibility of preparation of W-Cr-Si alloys by silicothermic co-reduction and characterization of as cast co-reduced alloy

Studies were carried out to prepare W-5Cr-5Si alloys (wt.%) by silicothermic co-reduction route using mixed oxides of tungsten tri-oxide and chromium oxides as reactants and Si as the reducing agent as well as alloying element. Optimum charge composition was found out by carrying out multiple co-reduction experiments for the formation of targeted alloys. The consolidated alloy was produced in a single step using the exothermic nature of the reduction reactions. The as-cast alloys were characterized with respect to chemical composition, phases, microstructure, hardness and oxidation properties. The multiphase alloy was composed of (W, Cr)(5)Si-3 matrix and discontinuous (W, Cr)(ss) phases with a relative volume of about 40%. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.