Advances in W-Cu: new powder systems

Title from first page of PDF file (viewed November 22, 2010)Includes bibliographical references (p. 54-57)The binary system of tungsten-copper lacks mutual solubility between its components. The refractory properties of tungsten and the high conductivity of copper are used to produce functionally graded composites. Production of W-Cu composites is usually done by means of copper infiltration into porous tungsten or through liquid phase sintering of a pressed W-Cu powder mixture. A wide range of experiments have been reported showing how different powder preparation methods influence the sintering behavior of W-Cu composites. Tungsten-copper mixtures are produced in various ways such as mechanical mixing, attritor milling, oxidized milling followed by hydrogen reduction, and chemical coating of copper on tungsten. This research effort is the first time where the study is focused on the influence of different powder preparation with respect to the sintering behavior. Also, an effort has been made to study the effect of different sintering methods, such as microwave sintering, spark plasma sintering, and conventional sintering on the densities of W-Cu. Further novel consolidation routes are employed to identify the advantages over conventional hot pressing and sintering. This study documents the differences in sintering response of W-Cu mixtures produced by a wide range of contemporary techniques