Claims
- 1. A tungsten/copper composite powder comprising spherical, flowable agglomerates of tungsten and copper particles, said powder having a bulk density of about 19% of theoretical density and being suitable for pressing and sintering into a tungsten/copper composite body.
- 2. The tungsten/copper composite powder of claim 1 wherein the agglomerates have a average size of about 150 micrometers.
- 3. The tungsten/copper composite powder of claim 2 wherein the average size of the tungsten and copper particles is between 1 and 2 micrometers.
- 4. The tungsten/copper composite powder of claim 2 wherein the agglomerates have a Hall flow rate of 23 seconds per 50 grams.
- 5. A method of making a tungsten/copper composite body comprising the steps of forming spherical, flowable agglomerates of tungsten and copper particles to make a tungsten/copper composite powder having a bulk density of about 19% of theoretical density, pressing and sintering the tungsten/copper composite powder to make a tungsten/copper composite body.
- 6. The method of claim 5 wherein the spherical, flowable agglomerates of tungsten and copper particles are formed by:
- a) forming a uniform mixture of a desired weight ratio of tungsten powder, copper oxide powder and, optionally, less than 0.5 weight percent cobalt powder;
- b) milling said mixture in an aqueous medium to cause an exothermic reaction between said aqueous medium, said tungsten powder and said copper oxide powder, said milling further acting to form a slurry in which said tungsten and copper oxide powders are intimately mixed, said slurry being maintained at a temperature between about 25.degree. C. to about 35.degree. C. to control said exothermic reaction;
- c) removing the liquid from said slurry to form spherical, flowable agglomerates; and
- d) subjecting said spherical, flowable agglomerates to a reducing atmosphere to form said spherical, flowable agglomerates of tungsten and copper particles.
- 7. The method of claim 6 wherein the liquid is removed from the slurry by spray drying the slurry.
- 8. The method of claim 5 wherein the tungsten/copper composite powder is pressed at 12,000 pounds per square inch and sintered in a hydrogen atmosphere.
CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 08/092,727, filed Jul. 16, 1993, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,439,638.
US Referenced Citations (16)
Foreign Referenced Citations (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
1158620 |
Jul 1969 |
GBX |
Non-Patent Literature Citations (3)
Entry |
Powder Metallurgy, v. 17, N. 34, pp. 335-336, (1974), no month available. |
K. Iinoya et al., Powder Technology Handbook, pp. 575-577, (1991), no month available. |
V. Skorokhod et al., "Sintering of Tungsten-Copper Composites of Various Origins", Theory and Technology of Sintering, Thermal, and Chemicothermal Treatment Processes, pp. 696-699 (1984), no month available. |
Continuations (1)
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Number |
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092727 |
Jul 1993 |
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