The present study was focused on the synthesis of a dispersed copper matrix composite material by the combination of the mechanical milling and plasma activated sintering processes. The mixed powder was prepared by the combination of the mechanical milling and reduction processes using the copper oxide and titanium diboride powder as the raw material. The synthesized mixed powder was sintered by the plasma activated sintering process. The hardness and electric conductivity of the sintered bodies were measured using micro vickers hardness and four probe method, respectively. The relative density of composite material sintered at showed about 98% of theoretical density. The composite material has a hardness of about 130Hv and an electric conductivity of about 85% IACS. The hardness and electric conductivity of composite material were about 140 Hv and about 45% IACS, respectively.

We studied formation of nanostructured -Cu composites under shock wave conditions. We investigated the influence of preliminary mechanical activation (MA) of Ti-B-Cu powder mixtures on the peculiarities of the reaction between Ti and B under shock wave. In the MA-ed mixture the reaction proceeded completely while in the non-activated mixture the reagents remained along with the product . titanium diboride. The size of titanium diboride particles in the central part of the compact was 100-300 nm.

Nano-sized was in situ synthesized in copper matrix through self-propagating high temperature synthesis (SHS) with high-energy ball milled Ti-B-Cu elemental mixtures as powder precursors. The size of particles in the product of SHS reaction decreases with time of preliminary mechanical treatment ranging from 1 in untreated mixture to 0.1 in mixtures milled for 3 min. Subsequent mechanical treatment of the product of SHS reaction allowed the particles to be reduced down to 30-50 nm. Microstructural change of -Cu nanocomposite during spark plasma sintering (SPS) was also investigated. Under simultaneous action of pressure, temperature and electric current, titanium diboride nanoparticles distributed in copper matrix move, agglomerate and form a interpenetrating phase composite with a fine-grained skeleton.

Interpenetrating phase composites of -Cu system were produced via Spark-Plasma Sintering (SPS) oi nanocomposite powders. Under simultaneous action of pressure, temperature and electric current titanium diboride nanoparticles distributed in copper matrix move, agglomerate and form a fine-grained skeleton. Increasing SPS-temperature and he]ding time promote densification due to local melting of copper matrix When copper melting is avoided the compacts contain 17-20% porosity but titanium diboride skeleton is still formed representing the feature of SPS . High degree of densification and formation of titanium diboride network result in increased hardness of high-temperature SPS-compacts.