Tensile strain-rate sensitivity of tungsten/niobium composites at 1300 to 1600 K

The tensile behavior of continuous tungsten fiber reinforced niobium composites (W/Nb), fabricated by an arc-spray process, was studied in the 1300 to 1600 K temperature range. The tensile properties of the fiber and matrix components as well as of the composites were measured and were compared to rule of mixtures (ROM) predictions. The deviation from the ROM was found to depend upon the chemistry of the tungsten alloy fibers, with positive deviations for ST300/Nb (i.e., stronger composite strength than the ROM) and negative or zero deviations for 218/Nb.