Tungsten is a refractory metal, a group that includes niobium, tantalum, molybdenum and rhenium, so-called because of their high melting temperatures and low vapor pressures. It is produced exclusively as a metal powder which is then solidified by sintering and/or melting. Tungsten is used, in wire form, extensively for lighting, electronic devices, and thermocouples. It’s high melting point makes it especially well-suited for structural applications exposed to very high temperatures.

TYPICAL PROPERTIES:

Physical Properties:

Crystal Structure: Body-centered cubic (α phase)

Atomic Weight: 183.85

Density: 19.254 g/cm³

Thermal Properties:

Boiling Point: 5900 ^oC (range of 5700 ^oC + 200 ^oC)

Melting Point: 3410 ^oC (+ 20 ^oC)

Thermal Conductivity (20 ^oC): 129 W/m ⋅K

Evaporation Heat: 444 J/g

Heat of Fusion: 209 J/g

Specific Heat: 0.14 J/g ⋅K

Electrical Properties:

Electrical Resistivity (20 ^oC): 5.5 µΩ/cm

Temperature Coefficient of the Electrical Resistivity: 482 ⋅10^-5 Ω/ΩK

Temperature of Superconductivity: 0.016 K

Mechanical Properties:

Tensile Strength (20 ^oC):     Sheet Thickness         psi

                                              0.5 - 1.0 mm          >188,500

                                              1.0 - 5.0 mm          >116,000

Compressive Strength (20 ^oC): 166,753 psi

Modulus of Elasticity (20 ^oC): 59,450 ⋅10³ psi

Transition Temperature (Brittle/Ductile): 100 ^oC - 400 ^oC