Research Projects

Copper is a widely used electrical and thermal conductor due to its high electrical and thermal conductivity, good corrosion resistance, abundant availability, excellent malleability, and low cost. However, pure copper is relatively soft and possesses poor resistance to wear, abrasion, creep, and fatigue. Bulk alloying with Zn, Sn, Si, and Al improves Cu's mechanical strength but negatively affects its electrical conductivity. Alloymenting with Cr or Be enhances Cu's hardness and wear resistance without compromising conductivity. Mechanical alloying (MA) is a convenient solid-state synthesis route that involves high-energy ball milling and concommitant mutual dissolution/alloying to form solid solutions, intermetallic compounds, or amorphous phases. However, the scope of developing a nano-tungsten powder dispersed/extended solid solution of CuCr-Ag/CuCr-Nb by MA alloying has not been explored. Consolidation of mechanically alloyed powders is crucial for developing Cu-based wear-resistant electrical contacts and components. The proposed approach involves developing a nano-tungsten metal phase, consolidating the milled powder, conducting detailed microstructural analysis, assessing mechanical nano/micro-hardness, wear, electrical resistivity, functional oxidation resistance, phase transition properties, and modeling and establishing the structure-property-process parameter correlation and optimization.