Assessment of Investment Process for Producing Copper Hollow Spheres

Abstract

The aim of the present paper is to demonstrate the feasibility of investment process in producing single-cell materials (hollow spheres) from copper alloys. Spheres were formed from Cu₂O powders by the conventional investment shell mold manufacturing process of investment casting and then reduced to metallic copper hollow spheres in a hydrogen atmosphere. Optimum processing variables such as slurry viscosity were investigated and the mass ratio, hardness, and electrical conductivity of the hollow spheres were evaluated with respect to oxide reduction temperature and ZnO content.