Tungsten is known as one of the most robust and versatile metals. From its unparalleled hardness to its resistance to extreme temperatures, tungsten serves as a vital component in countless applications, ranging from aerospace engineering to medical technology.
What are the properties of tungsten?
Physical Properties
Atomic NO. | 74 |
Atomic weight | 183.84 g/mol |
Crystal structure | body-centered cubic (BCC) |
Melting point | 3420 ℃ |
Boiling point | 5555 ℃ |
Density (20℃) | 19.25 g/cm3 |
Coefficient of linear thermal expansion | 4.4×10-6 m/(m·K) |
Thermal conductivity | 164 W/(m·K) |
Specific heat capacity | 0.13 J/(g·K) |
Electrical conductivity | 18.2×106 S/m |
Electrical resistivity | 0.055 (Ω·mm2)/m |
Chemical Properties
- At room temperature, tungsten does not react with air or water.
- It remains unresponsive to hydrochloric acid, sulfuric acid, nitric acid, and hydrofluoric acid in the absence of heating. However, it readily dissolves in mixtures of hydrofluoric acid and concentrated nitric acid, while exhibiting no reaction in alkaline solutions.
- Upon heating to temperatures between 80-100 ℃, tungsten exhibits slight reactivity to various acids mentioned above, except for hydrofluoric acid.
Mechanical Properties
Tensile Strength | 550-680 MPa |
Young’s Modulus | 411 GPa |
Vickers Hardness | 600-1200 Hv |
Elongation | 1% |
Fatigue Strength | 310 MPa |
What are the advantages of tungsten?
- Outstanding creep resistance and high purity: In the field of sapphire crystal growth, tungsten, and tungsten alloy materials are commonly used for fabricating crucibles for melting and solidification. Their high purity prevents any contamination of the sapphire crystal, while excellent creep resistance ensures the dimensional stability of the product. These properties remain stable even at extremely high temperatures.
- Excellent electrical conductivity: Compared to other metals, tungsten has a low thermal expansion coefficient and high electrical conductivity, making it an ideal choice for thin film applications. Tungsten is a crucial component of TFTs (thin-film transistors) in LCD screens. Tungsten sputtering targets and Tungsten evaporation materials find wide applications in thin film coatings.
- Extended lifespan and ultra-high melting point: Tungsten's extremely high melting point and exceptional high-temperature resistance result in outstanding performance under extreme conditions. Particularly in high-temperature vacuum furnaces like sapphire single crystal growth furnaces, Tungsten Crucibles, Tungsten Seed Crystal Chucks, and Tungsten Support Assemblies play pivotal roles.
What are the uses of tungsten?
Alloys Field
Tungsten is an important alloying element due to its high melting point, high hardness, and high density, which significantly increases the strength, hardness, and wear resistance of the alloy.
- Steel: Common tungsten-containing steels, including high-speed steel, tungsten steel, and tungsten-cobalt magnetic steel, are extensively used in tool manufacturing, such as drill bits, milling cutters, dies, and molds.
- Wear-resistant alloys: Tungsten is commonly used in the manufacture of heat-strength and wear-resistant alloys, such as tungsten and chromium, cobalt, carbon alloys are commonly used in the production of such as aero-engine valves, turbine impellers, and other wear-resistant parts, and tungsten and other refractory metals (such as tantalum, niobium, molybdenum, rhenium) alloys are commonly used in the production of such as the rocket's nozzle, engine and other parts of the high thermal strength.
- High-specific gravity alloys: These high-density alloys, classified into series such as W-Ni-Fe, W-Ni-Cu, W-Co, W-WC-Cu, and W-Ag based on their composition and properties, are commonly used for manufacturing armored materials, heat sinks, contact materials for switches, circuit breakers, etc. They are characterized by their high density, strength, thermal conductivity, excellent electrical conductivity, and superior machinability.
Electronic Field
Tungsten is widely used in the electronics and power supply industries because of its malleability, low evaporation rate, high melting point, and high electron-emitting capacity.
Medical Field
Tungsten's high hardness and density make tungsten and tungsten alloys ideal for medical applications such as X-ray and radiation protection. Common tungsten alloy medical products include X-ray anodes, anti-scattering plates, radioactive containers, and syringe shielding containers (Tungsten and Tungsten Alloy Radiation Shielding Parts).
Tungsten's high melting point, hardness, and excellent heat resistance will lead to its expanded use in aerospace, military defense, and high-temperature furnaces. In the future, with the development of new energy vehicles and renewable energy technologies, the demand for tungsten and its alloys as key materials is expected to increase further.
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