Study on the Electric Current Effects on the Microstructure and Properties of W-Mo-Cu Alloy Under the Action of Electric Field

In this study, electric current effects on the densification, microstructure, and properties of W-Mo-Cu alloy fabricated by large current electric field sintering (LCS) were investigated. The apparent sintering activation energy for densification (ASAED) was calculated to decrease from 72.01 kJ/mol to 24.02 kJ/mol with the increased electric current from 30,000 A to 50,000 A, thereby enhancing the sinterability of the W-Mo-Cu mixed powder and improving the densification of W-Mo-Cu alloy. The experimental results also proved that the elevated electric current optimized the microstructure and properties of the W-Mo-Cu alloy. Moreover, XRD and TEM results suggested that electric current had a significant effect on the phase transformation of the alloy, while the varying electric current did not affect the phase type. Besides W, Mo, and Cu phases, the W-Mo-Cu alloy prepared by LCS contains three new phases, i.e., Cu 0.4 W 0.6 intermetallic compound, Mo-Cu solid solution, and W-Mo solid solution, none of which are present in an equilibrium state.