Materials (Jun 2023)

Morphological Analyses of W/Cu Functional Graded Materials Obtained by Conventional and Spark Plasma Sintering

  • Claudiu Nicolicescu,
  • Victor Horia Nicoară,
  • Cristina Ileana Pascu,
  • Ștefan Gheorghe,
  • Cristian Oliviu Burada,
  • Traian Florin Marinca,
  • Florin Popa

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/ma16114126
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 16, no. 11
p. 4126

Abstract

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The paper presents the analysis of two compaction methods for obtaining W/Cu Functional Graded Materials (FGMs) consisting of three layers with the following compositions (% weight): first layer 80 W/20 Cu, second layer 75 W/25 Cu, and third layer 65 W/35 Cu. Each layer composition was obtained using powders obtained through mechanical milling. The two compaction methods were Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS) and Conventional Sintering (CS). The samples obtained after the SPS and CS were investigated from morphological (scanning electron microscopy-SEM) and compositional (energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy-EDX) points of views. Additionally, the porosities and the densities of each layer in both cases were studied. It was found that the densities of the sample’s layers obtained through SPS are superior to those obtained through CS. The research emphasizes that, from a morphological point of view, the SPS process is recommended for W/Cu-FGMs, having raw materials as fine-graded powders against the CS process.

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