Tungsten Rhenium W-3Re is an alloy of Tungsten with 3 weight percent Rhenium, developed to improve the limited deformability of pure Tungsten. The addition of Rhenium restricts the movement of dislocations at high temperature, contributing to higher strength and better creep resistance.
As the lowest alloyed variant within the W-Re series, W-3Re offers a noticeable improvement in toughness compared to pure Tungsten, while maintaining the characteristic heat resistance.
The addition of rhenium lowers the ductile-brittle transition temperature compared to pure Wolfram, resulting in usable elongation at room temperature after recrystallization. The tensile strength of drawn W-3Re wire is noticeably higher than that of pure Wolfram wire.
The melting point is slightly below that of pure Wolfram, allowing the material to largely retain its heat resistance.
W-3Re is widely used in thermocouple wire, often in combination with W-25Re, where the temperature difference provides an accurate signal up to very high temperatures. The alloy is also used in aerospace construction components.
Additionally, W-3Re is employed in semiconductor production and vacuum applications due to the combination of strength and thermal stability.