Microstructural evolution and mechanical behavior of W-Si-C multi-phase composite prepared by arc-melting

In this work, to improve the strain capacity of tungsten , β-SiC was added to form W-Si-C multi-phase composites composed of W, W 2 C, and W 5 Si 3 using the arc-melting method. The relationship between microstructure and mechanical behavior was investigated, and a microstructural evolution mechanism was proposed. The grain size of the W was refined significantly from 1071.8 to 5.4   µm as the SiC content increased. The micro-hardness (3.67–12.79   GPa) and ultimate compressive strength (UCS) (0.90–2.29   GPa) of the W-Si-C multi-phase composite obviously increased as the β-SiC content increased to 4   wt% due to the grain refinement and segregation of the W 2 C and W 5 Si 3 at the grain boundaries. The highest strain of UCS (21.9%) was obtained at 1   wt% SiC, which is three times of that of pure W (7.4%) and is a result of the refined W grain size and the potentiation of W 5 Si 3.