REU/RET Projects

Keith E. Rea
University: University of Central Florida
Mentor in UCF: Dr. S. Seal – AMPAC, and Mechanical, Materials and Aerospace Engineering

The Nanostructure and Mechanical Properties of Tungsten Hafnium Carbide Reinforced Plasma Formed Bulk Components

A creative technique that includes vacuum plasma spray (VPS), subsequent deposition, and rapid solidification of molten tungsten-based metal matrix composites (MMCs) upon a cryogenically super-cooled preform has shown an economical, cost effective, and time saving method for the formation of bulk monolithic, and most importantly, nanostructured thermo-mechanical components that are usually impossible or insufficiently expensive to synthesize. Upon transmission electron microscopic (TEM) investigation, and by varying certain characteristics (agglomeration technique or amount of mixture) in a tungsten powders’ matrix, and furthermore, including nanoparticle reinforcements; there were noticeable microstructural effects, including a mixture of strengthening defects and engrained nano- and micro- particles, which increase the inherent strength of the bulk component. Microindentation was used in this experiment to demonstrate the increase in the strength of the engineered material by shifting the matrix powder’s average particle size and by supplementing with very small quantities (less than 2 weight %) of a complimentary carbide family nanoscale underpinning.