Microstructure and dispersion of Cu-TiCX master alloys into molten Cu and the relation to contact angle data

Cu-TiCx composites have been made self-propagating high temperature synthesis of Cu-Ti-C mixtures. It was found that as the C/Ti ratio decreases, wetting of the carbide, by what is effectively a molten Cu-Ti alloy, is improved and the distribution of the carbides in the master-alloy becomes ideal for subsequent dispersion, i.e. discrete particles are formed. Increasing quantity of Cu in the reactants from 10 to 50 wt% Cu had a similar effect to decreasing the C/Ti ratio and enabled the size of the TiCx particles to be varied in the approximate range 20–0.5 μm. Incorporation and dispersion of the master alloy into molten copper was possible when the C/Ti ratio in the products was below approximately 0.73, which agreed well with contact angle data in the literature. C 2005 Springer Science + Business Media, Inc.