The increased application of spark plasma sintering (SPS) for powder metallurgy (PM) is due to
the benefits of fast heating rate, uniform heating condition, lower sintering temperature and shorter
dwell time. This method involves the Joule heating of specimens by a pulsed dc coupled with axial
pressure. The limitation of PM is the reduced mechanical strength and corrosion properties as compared
to solid-state sintering. Tungsten cermets are prospective next generation nuclear materials and the
corrosion resistance of these cermets will be influenced by the native oxide associated with tungsten.
The behavior of tungsten in acidic environments has been shown to be associated with the dissolution of
the outer layer of WO3(H2O)x that rests on the compact inner layer of WO3. The application of sintering
temperatures at 1300°C and 1700°C with dwell times of 5 minutes yielded SPS tungsten specimens
from two tungsten powders of different sizes with varying levels of porosity. Potentiodynamic
polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopic experiments were performed on these
specimens under pH 1 and pH 11 conditions. The data was analyzed using equivalent electrical circuits
to determine the influence of the morphology on the electrochemical behavior of the sintered tungsten.
Keywords: grain size, adsorbed film, porosity