Performance and characterization of dispersion strengthened Cu-TiB2 composite for electrical use

In the present study two copper-based alloys with 1% vol and 2% vol TiB2 were made by mechanical alloying over 12 h and 36 h. The resulting compacts consist mostly of equi-axed TiB2 grains homogeneously dispersed in a copper matrix with an average diameter of 0.6 μm for the 36 h sample. The consolidated composites have an electrical conductivity of 31.4% IACS (International Annealed Copper Standard, 100% IACS = 58 MS/m), a hardness of 78.7 HRb, and a tensile strength of 318 MPa as a minimum. Moreover, the TiB2 shows good stability at 923 K during hot consolidation.