OPTIMIZING THE EFFECTIVE PARAMETERS OF TUNGSTEN- COPPER COMPOSITES

Tungsten- Copper composites are generally used for electrical contact materials. These composites are suitable for hard working conditions such as intensive electrical sparks, gouging spark erosion, surface melting, welding, material transfer etc. The aim of the present article is to determine optimum processing conditions to improve the mechanical and physical properties of W-Cu composites with the view to increase their lifetime. W-Cu specimens are produced using powder material and the liquid infiltration process. Chemical composition, pressing machine pressure, infiltration time and temperature are variable parameters for specimen production. By optimizing the amount of cobalt addition, shaping pressure, time and temperature of production process, optimum values for mechanical and electrical properties such as density, hardness and resistivity are obtained