Blistering and retention behavior of laser powder bed fused tungsten alloys under hydrogen plasma irradiation

In this study, pure tungsten (W) fabricated by powder metallurgy and laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) formed W-Ta and W-ZrC alloys were exposed to hydrogen plasma. Severe blistering was found in LPBFed W-Ta specimens due to a strong [111] crystallographic texture and the large number of particle-matrix interfaces in the LPBFed W-ZrC inhibits the blister growth. The retention of LPBFed W alloys is lower than that of pure W due to the presence of large columnar grains and cracks. The results highlight the capability of tailoring the microstructures of W alloys by the LPBF technique to achieve improved plasma-compatible performance.