2019 Volume 58 Issue 1 Pages 151-154
Pure copper powder was mechanically milled (MMed) using a vibration type of ball mill, and the milled powders were consolidated into bulk materials by spark plasma sintering (SPS). Effects of the rate of heating to sintering temperatures on hardness and electrical conductivity of bulk SPS materials were investigated. The selected heating rate in the present research was 1.67 K/s, and then the properties of SPS materials using the rate of heating of 4.17 K/s previously reported4) were compared to those of the SPS materials using the rate of heating of 1.67 K/s. When MMed 32 h powder was consolidated into bulk SPS materials at 1073 K with heating rate of 4.17 K/s4), Vickers hardness and electrical conductivity of the bulk SPS materials exhibited 115 HV and 62.2%IACS, respectively. When the heating rate was decreased from 4.17 K/s4) to 1.67 K/s in SPS process, Vickers hardness, relative density and electrical conductivity decreased, which was due to formation of Cu2O on the surface of MMed powders during SPS process.
