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Microstructure evolution and densification during spark plasma sintering of nanocrystalline W-5wt.%Ta alloy

The present work reports the effect of Ta on densification and microstructure evolution during non-isothermal and spark plasma sintering of nanocrystalline W. Nanocrystalline W-5wt.%Ta alloy powder was synthesized using mechanical alloying. The nanocrystalline powder was characterized thoroughly using X-ray diffraction line profile analysis. Furthermore, the shrinkage behavior of nanocrystalline powder was investigated during non-isothermal sintering using dilatometry. Subsequently, the alloy powder was consolidated using spark plasma sintering up to 1600 °C. The role of Ta on stabilizing the microstructure during spark plasma sintering of nanocrystalline W was investigated in detail using electron backscatter diffraction. The average grain size of spark plasma sintered W-5wt.%Ta alloy was observed as 1.73 micron.