Consolidation of mechanically milled Cu-Al2O3 composite powder

In this work, the consolidation of mechanically milled copper powder mixed with fine alumina particles has been studied. Copper powder with nanometric crystal size of 80 nm and particle size of 5 mu m was obtained by means of ball milling for 30 hours under an hydrogen atmosphere. The milled powder was mixed with alumina particles of 0.05 mu m and the mixture was consolidated by hot pressing. The compacted samples were characterized by scanning electron microscopy. X-Ray diffraction analysis was used to determine the crystal size of the milled powder. The effect of alumina content on density and electrical conductivity was evaluated.