Effect of Nano Copper on the Densification of Spark Plasma Sintered W–Cu Composites

Abstract

In the present work, nano Cu (0, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 wt.%) was added to W, and W–Cu composites were fabricated using the spark plasma sintering (S.P.S.) technique. The densification, microstructural evolution, tensile strength, micro-hardness, and electrical conductivity of the W–Cu composite samples were evaluated. It was observed that increasing the copper content resulted in increasing the relative sintered density, with the highest being 82.26% in the W75% + Cu25% composite. The XRD phase analysis indicated that there was no evidence of intermetallic phases. The highest ultimate (tensile) strength, micro-hardness, and electrical conductivity obtained was 415 MPa, 341.44 HV0.1, and 28.2% IACS, respectively, for a sample containing 25 wt.% nano-copper. Fractography of the tensile tested samples revealed a mixed-mode of fracture. As anticipated, increasing the nano-copper content in the samples resulted in increased electrical conductivity.

Keywords

• tungsten-<i>(nano)</i> copper composites
• solid-state sintering
• spark plasma sintering
• microstructure
• mechanical properties