Abstract
? 2022 Elsevier B.V.The wide applications of Cu-10Ta (at%) composite are limited due to the high cost of Ta element (24 wt%). In the present research, Cu-0.6Ta-0.6Cr and Cu-0.6Ta alloys with low Ta content were fabricated by mechanical alloying and spark plasma sintering. The results indicate that the thermal stability and tensile strength of Cu-0.6Ta-0.6Cr alloy are significantly increased by the addition of Cr. The microstructure characterizations reveal that the performance enhancement of Cu-0.6Ta-0.6Cr alloy is ascribed to the transformation of nanoparticles in the matrix from Ta to more stable Cr2Ta Laves and the refinement effects of these nanoparticles from 19.4 nm to 14.1 nm. This work provides a potential for the wide applications of Cu-Ta alloy with low Ta by alloying with Cr at elevated temperatures.
NSTL
Elsevier