Preparation of Tungsten Based Metal-Ceramic Alloys by the Plasma Chemical Synthesis from the Mineral Concentrate Mined in the Far Eastern Region

Abstract

s The paper considers the development of an alternative method for obtaining functional materials based on tungsten carbide and its compounds using simple and sufficiently productive equipment. This method will allow using mineral dumps as a raw material base, in addition, it gives an opportunity to obtain new compounds based on tungsten. Obtained during plasma-chemical synthesis, the WxCW alloy from a mixture based on a tungsten-containing concentrate has a two-phase composition consisting of carbides of the WxCW group and metallic tungsten. According to preliminary calculations, the content of the carbide phase in the alloy is 88% and depends on the plasma synthesis processes, on the concentrate composition, and on the introduced carburetor volume. The synthesis was carried out using tungsten-containing concentrates by treatment of high-density energies (g> 104 - 105 W/cm2) in an inert gas medium. The stage of plasma-chemical synthesis of the WxCW semi-finished product made it possible to obtain nanosized tungsten carbide crystals. This makes a possibility to synthesize a high-quality alloy with an ordered structure of the carbide phase during refinement and pressing. The carbide phase ordered structure contributed to an increase in the strength characteristics of the new refractory material.