The influence of mechanical milling on the properties of W–40 wt.%Cu composite produced by hot extrusion

In this paper, W–40 wt.%Cu composites with high density, fine microstructure, and good properties have been obtained by hot extrusion from the powders milled for different times. The experimental results show that a homogenous structure containing very fine tungsten phases embedded in copper is formed after milling. After extrusion, the density and specific conductance of the composites decrease and the hardness increases with the increase of milling time. After annealing at 800 °C for 2 h, the specific conductance of the composites decreases from 61% IACS to 44% IACS and the hardness increases from 215 to 255 HV with the milling time increases from 0 to 10 h.