Densification behavior of tungsten-fiber-reinforced copper powder compacts under hot isostatic pressing

Densification behavior of tungsten-fiber-reinforced copper powder compacts under hot isostatic pressing was investigated. Hot isostatic pressing was carried out for a bundle of copper-coated tungsten fibers in copper powder. Due to tungsten-fibers and copper coating layers, the densification rate of a tungsten-fiber-reinforced copper powder compact was slower than that of pure copper powder. The constitutive equations by McMeeking and co-workers and by Abouaf and co-workers were implemented into a finite element program (ABAQUS) to analyze densification behavior of tungsten-fiber-reinforced copper powder compacts under hot isostatic pressing. Finite element calculations were compared with experimental results for the variation of relative density with time for copper powder compacts during hot isostatic pressing. Density distributions in copper powder compacts were also investigated by comparing experimental results with finite element calculations.