Mechanical and Electrical Properties of Cu-W Composites with Micro-Oriented Structures
HAN Ying1(), WANG Hongshuang1, CAO Yundong1, AN Yuejun1, TAN Guoqi2, LI Shujun2, LIU Zengqian2, ZHANG Zhefeng2
1.School of Electrical Engineering, Shenyang University of Technology, Shenyang 110870, China 2.Institute of Metal Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang 110016, China
Cite this article:
HAN Ying, WANG Hongshuang, CAO Yundong, AN Yuejun, TAN Guoqi, LI Shujun, LIU Zengqian, ZHANG Zhefeng. Mechanical and Electrical Properties of Cu-W Composites with Micro-Oriented Structures. Acta Metall Sin, 2021, 57(8): 1009-1016.
Cu-W composites that combine the merits of Cu and W show good electric and heat conductivity, resistance to arc erosion, and high strength, etc., and are good candidates for electric contact materials. Until now, several methods, including the high-temperature liquid phase sintering method and the hot-pressure sintering method, have been developed to fabricate Cu-W composites. However, these methods may cause an uneven distribution of constituents in the material and a relatively low density and poor electric conductivity of the material. In this study, a Cu-W composite with micro-oriented W lamellas was prepared by the infiltration method, and the mechanical and electrical properties were investigated and compared with a commercial Cu-W composite. The results showed that the compressive strength of the studied Cu-W composite with micro-oriented W lamellas was between 300 and 1100 MPa when the W content was between 50% and 90% (mass fraction). The compressive strength of the studied composites presented obvious anisotropy, and the strength along the direction parallel to the W lamellas was higher than that perpendicular to the W lamellas. Compared with commercial Cu-W composites with disordered W frameworks, composites with micro-oriented W lamellas exhibit a higher electrical conductivity and compressive strength along the W lamellar direction, which is mainly related to the regular arrangement of the two phases of Cu and W in the composites. The studied composite is expected to be used as an electrical contact material to significantly improve the effect of electric contracts and prolong their service life while reducing the mass of the components and energy consumption.
Fund: National Natural Science Foundation of China(51977132);Natural Science Foundation of Liaoning Province(2019-MS-249);Liaoning Province Science and Technology Major Special Project(2019JH1/10100016)
About author: HAN Ying, associate professor, Tel: 13478250188, E-mail: hany_dq@sut.edu.cn.
Fig.1 Schematic of electrical conductivity measurement sample (unit: mm)
Fig.2 Finite element simulation unit model for Cu-W composite (φ—potential, n—unit vector, J—current density vector)
Element
Density
Thermal conductivity
Electrical conductivity
Melting point
g·cm-3
W·m-1·K-1
107 S·m-1
℃
Cu
8.94
400
5.998
1083
W
17.80
175
1.825
3410
Table 1 Physical properties of Cu and W
Fig.3 Microstructures of micro-oriented W lamella and macrostructure of Cu-W composites
Fig.4 SEM images of Cu-W composites with micro-oriented W lamellas (50%W) (a, b) and commercial Cu-W composite with disordered W frameworks (65%W) (c, d)
Fig.5 EDS analyses of Cu-W composites with micro-oriented W lamellas (50%W) (a) and commercial Cu-W composites with disordered W frameworks (65%W) (b)
Fig.6 Compressive strengths of Cu-W composites with micro-oriented W lamellas and commercial Cu-W composites
Fig.7 Typical compressive curves of Cu-50%W composites with micro-oriented W lamellas and commercial Cu-50%W composites
Fig.8 Finite element model (a) and simulated results of current density of Cu-W composites with micro-oriented W lamellas, which current flow parallel (b) and perpendicular (c) with W lamellas
Fig.9 Finite element model (a) and simulated result of current density (b) of commercial Cu-W composites with disordered W frameworks
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