The effect of Cu content on microstructure and mechanical properties of nano-sized Cu dispersed nanocomposites was investigated. The nanocomposites with Cu content of 2.5 to were prepared by reduction and hot-pressing of powder mixtures. The nanocomposites with Cu content of 2.5 and exhibited the maximum fracture strength of 820MPa and enhanced toughness compared with monolithic . The strengthening was mainly attributed to the refinement of matrix grains. The toughening mechanism was discussed by the observed microstructural feature based on crack bridging

In-situ processing route was adopted to disperse carbon nanotubes (CNTs) into powders homogeneously. The composite powders with homogeneous dispersion of CNTs could be synthesized by a catalytic route for in-situ formation of CNTs on nano-sized Fe dispersed powders. CNTs/Fe/ nanopowders were densified by spark plasma sintering (SPS). The hardness and bending strength as well as electrical conductivity increased with increasing sintering temperature. However, the electrical conductivity of the composites sintered at above showed decreased value with increasing sintering temperature due to the oxidation of CNTs

An optimum route to synthesize composite powders with homogeneous dispersion of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) was investigated. nanocomposite powders were fabricated by thermal chemical vapor deposition of gas over nanocomposite catalyst prepared by selective reduction of metal powders. The FT-Raman spectroscopy analysis revealed that the CNTs have single- and multi-walled structure. The CNTs with the diameter of 25-43 nm were homogeneously distributed in the powders, and their characteristics were strongly affected by a kind of metal catalyst and catalyst size. The experimental results show that the composite powder with required size and dispersion of CNTs can be realized by control of synthesis condition

The microstructure and mechanical property of hot-pressed composites with a different temperature for atmosphere changing from H to Ar have been studied. When atmosphere-changed from H to Ar gas at 145, the hot-pressed composite was characterized by inhomogeneous microstructure and low fracture strength. On the contrary, when atmosphere-changed at low temperature of 110 the composite showed more homogeneous microstructure, higher fracture strength and smaller deviation in strength. Based on the thermodynamic consideration and microstructural analysis, it was interpreted that the Cu wetting behavior relating to the formation of CuAlO is probably responsible for strong dependence of microstructure on atmosphere changing temperature. The reason for a strong sensitivity of fracture strength and especially of its deviation to atmosphere changing temperature was explained by the microstructural inhomogeneity and by the role of CuAlO phase on the interfacial bonding strength.

W-Cu composite has been used for the applications requiring both high strength, good thermal and electrical conductivity. A graded combination of W and Cu will reduce thermal stress concerned with heat conduction, maintaining good thermal conductivity and high mechanical strength. In the present work, an attempt was made to fabricate continuous W-Cu FGM by preparing the graded porous structure of W skeleton using spark plasma sintering (SPS) process followed by infiltrating Cu. The graded porous structure was prepared at 150 for 60s under pressure of 15MPa by SPS process using a graphite mold with varying crr)ss section in the longitudinal direction. Infiltration of Cu was performed at 115 for 1 hour under . W-Cu composite with graded Cu composition of 14 to 27 wt％ was finally prepared. In this process the gradient of composition could be conveniently controlled by varying the gradient of cross sectional area of graphite mold, temperature and pressure.

High temperature deformation behavior of activated sintered W powder compacts was investigated. The compression tests were carried out in the temperature range between 900 and 110 at the strain rate of . The sintered specimens of Ni-doped submicron W powder compacts showed decrease in W grain size with increasing the Ni content. As the result, the flow stress was significantly increased with increasing the Ni content. We obtained Ni-activated sintered W compacts with the relative density of 94 l％and the average grain size of less than 5. A moderate true strain up to 0.60 was obtained without fracture even at 110 with the strain rate of for the activated W compact despite adding the 1.0 wt％Ni to submicron W powder.

The electrical and thermal conductivity of W-Cu composites were investigated as a function of the W-particle size and W-W contiguity. Powder mixtures were prepared by ball milling or mechanical alloying process, and then sintered at various temperatures. The electrical conductivity of sintered composite was increased with decreasing W grain size. Dependence of electrical conductivity on the W grain size was explained by the W-W contiguity concept. The thermal conductivity was increased with increasing the temperature up to but decreased at the temperature above Also, thermal conductivity value was influenced by the W particle size. Change of thermal conductivity in W-Cu composites was discussed based on the observed microstructural characteristics and theoretical considerations.

Processing and properties of composites with Ni-Fe content of 10 and 15 wt% were investigated. Homogeneous powder mixtures of /Ni-Fe alloy were prepared by the solution-chemistry route using , and powders. Microstructural observation of composite powder revealed that Ni-Fe alloy particles with a size of 20nm were homogeneously dispersed on powder surfaces. Hot-pressed composites showed enhanced fracture toughness and magnetic response. The properties are discussed based on the observed microstructural characteristics