Criteria for the Rational Copper Infiltration of a Porous Refractory Skeleton during the Production of a W–Cu Pseudoalloy

Abstract

The solidification of liquid copper in a porous refractory tungsten skeleton subjected to infiltration and subsequent cooling under various conditions, including a standard through-type furnace cooler, is studied. The pores in the refractory skeleton are shown to be completely filled with liquid copper in the presence of excess melt up to the end of infiltration. Heat insulation is found to be a practical method to retain excess liquid copper up to its solidification inside the porous refractory skeleton. Standard Termoizol-1400 is used as a heat insulator. At a heat insulator wall thickness of 10.8 mm, the excess liquid copper layer thickness is 0.2 mm up to the end of infiltration of a W–Cu pseudoalloy. Criteria are proposed for rational infiltration.