An experimental investigation on the fabrication of W-Cu composite through hot-press

In this paper the feasibility of fabricating W-Cu composite by hot-press has been studied and the best parameters for hot-pressing were acquired. W/20 vol%Cu composite was successfully prepared by this process, in which at first the powder of tungsten and copper, containing 20% vol copper were mixed in a ball mill for 3 h at rotation speed of 200 rpm. Then the mixed powders were hot-pressed for 3 h at a compact pressure of 30 MPa and temperatures of 1,250°C, 1,350°C, and 1,450°C. The composites made have been investigated and revealed the making W-Cu composite with good properties included density, hardness, modules of elasticity, flexural strength, and microstructure. Also, the sample made at 1,450°C possesses better properties, and its microstructure showed the tungsten matrix and the copper reinforcement separately; the X-ray diffraction patterns showed that no compound has been formed between W and Cu.