Influence of the fabrication route of tunsgen-2 wt.% vanadium in the microstructure and mechanical properties

•The addition of 2% V to pure W improves the mechanical performance of the alloy.•Mechanical alloying during fabrication is required to improve the cohesion.•W-2 V alloy exhibited improved thermal degradation.•W-2 V alloy exhibited improved ductility, yield strength and fracture toughness. This study evaluates the microstructural and mechanical behaviour of two tungsten (W) − 2 wt.% vanadium (V) alloys and compares them with a pure W reference material. All the materials were processed by hot isostatic pressing (HIP). However, some differences were introduced during the fabrication process of the W-2 V alloys: one was processed with mechanical alloying (MA) and the other with only mixing of the powders. For the mechanical characterisation non-standard tree-point bending (TPB) tests were performed in air in both smooth and V-notched specimens. Tests were performed in a temperature range between 77 K, via immersion in liquid nitrogen, to 1073 K to determine the mechanical strength, yield strength and fracture toughness. Other physical and mechanical tests were performed such as measurement of the hardness, density and elastic modulus. The results exhibit significant differences between both alloys and the pure-W reference material and reveal the critical important of the MA during the fabrication process.