Experimental Study on Explosive Compaction of W-Cu Nanocomposites

Explosive compaction was used to fabricate dense W-Cu composites in a cylindrical configuration/single tube set-up, and the highest density of the compacts reached 98%. The W-Cu alloy powders produced by mechanical alloying were analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD). The effect of reduction temperature of the powder mixture on density was studied. Using electron probe micro analyzer (EPMA) and scanning electron microscope (SEM), the distribution of elements and fracture surface morphology were observed and analyzed. The hardness and conductivity were also measured. The results showed that the W-Cu alloy powders compacted by explosive are transformed into the high-density nanocomposites, which demonstrated the characteristics of high hardness, uniform structure and fine grain.