The tensile strength requirement provides the fundamental assurance that tungsten alloy shielding containers maintain structural integrity and geometrical permanence under transport, lifting, stacking, dropping, and long-term self-weight conditions. Strength must offer sufficient load-bearing capacity and deformation resistance while meeting shielding density demands.
To achieve this objective, production optimizes binder phase proportion, secondary plastic deformation, and heat treatment processes to form elongated fiber-like tungsten particle orientation with binder phase uniformly distributed along fiber gaps, creating a composite reinforcement structure analogous to reinforced concrete. Tensile strength must remain stable across room temperature and service temperature ranges, with softening tendency at elevated temperature controlled within acceptable limits. Post-irradiation strength degradation and toughness loss must also be restricted to reasonable bounds.
Strength uniformity requires all container regions (including lifting lugs, wall thickness transitions, and sealing flanges) to meet specified levels, with weld and heat-affected zone strength not lower than base material. Practical testing combines tensile, bending, and fatigue tests to ensure no irreversible deformation or crack propagation under static and dynamic loading.
Appropriate fulfillment of tensile strength requirements enables tungsten alloy shielding containers to safely withstand various mechanical loads in nuclear medicine hot cells, isotope production, industrial irradiation, and waste storage settings, maintaining constant minimum wall thickness and sealing clearance over extended periods and thereby ensuring sustained shielding reliability.
