THE FEASIBILITY STUDY OF W-CU COMPOSITE PRODUCTION BY SUBMICRON PARTICLES ADDITION AND INFILTRATION

In this paper the feasibility of fabricating controlled porous skeleton of pure tungsten at low temperature by addition of submicron particles to tungsten powder (surface activated sintering) has been studied and the best parameters for subsequent infiltration of Cu were acquired. The effects of addition of submicron particles and sintering temperature on porous as well as infiltrated samples were studied. The samples were examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Vickers hardness measurements and tensile test. The composites made have been investigated and revealed the making W-Cu composite with good density, penetrability, hardness and microstructure. Consequently, the sintering temperature was reduced considerably (Ts <= 1650oC) and a homogeneous porous tungsten was obtained. Also, composite prepared by this method exhibited elongation about 28% that is much more than conventional W-15%wt Cu composites. This method of production for W-Cu composites has not been reported elsewhere.