High strength, high hardness tungsten heavy alloys with molybdenum additions and method

摘要

A tungsten heavy alloy system is modified by partial replacement of the tungsten with substantial amounts of molybdenum ranging from 2% to 16% by weight to produce a new alloy with greater strength and hardness and moderate ductility. This new alloy is particularly useful for kinetic energy penetrators. The process involved is liquid phase sintering in an atmosphere of dry hydrogen, then wet hydrogen, then argon, followed by heat treament at 1100° C. with a water quench. The resulting alloy is further hardened by swaging and strain aging which, at certain levels of molybdenum, produces a material having hardness in excess of HRC 45.