| Composites of copper (Cu) and tungsten (W) were fabricated by hot isostatically pressing (HIPing) mixtures of Cu and W powders. Mixtures containing between 0 and 100 volume percent W and varying powder sizes were HIPped at a variety of times, temperatures, and a pressure of 105MPa, with the density of the composites after HIP measured. A new computer model, which better describes the densification of composites, especially for high proportions of the high-temperature component (W), was used to make predictions relating time temperature, pressure, and density and to construct HIP diagrams. This model utilizes material properties and HIP conditions and takes into account composition, particle size, strain hardening of the high-temperature and low-temperature (Cu) components, and the extensive time-dependent deformation of the low-temperature component. Model predictions matched experimental data for the W/Cu system in this study with a coefficient of correlation of 0.91, a mean error of 1.81% and 95% confidence limits of +4.65%, comparable to the accuracy of exiting models for homogeneous mixtures. The model also predicted the densification of other systems found in the literature. |
