Synthesis and Evaluation of Strengthened Copper with 3 wt. % TiC and/ or Al2O3 Prepared By SPS Technique

Abstract

Cu-(TiC/Al2O3) nanocomposite was synthesized successfully using the powder metallurgy route. The constituents are first ball-milled and then sintered using the spark plasma sintering technique. The tribological and physical properties are investigated. The homogeneity and of ceramics distribution were also evaluated using SEM and XRD. Results showed that TiC and Al2O3 nanoparticles were homogeneously distributed all over the Cu matrix. Copper reinforced with 3 wt.% Al2O3 and hybrid (3 wt. % TiC and Al2O3) had the lowest relative density (95 %). The hybrid (3 wt. % TiC and Al2O3) sample had a higher wear rate value (1.7 * 10-3) at 25 N load, while the sample reinforced with 3 wt.% TiC had the lowest value (0.5 * 10-3) at 25 N load. Cu-Al2O3 exhibited a higher hardness value (149 HV). The highest electrical and thermal conductivities are recorded for the Cu -TiC that were (20.76 MS/m) and (149.03 W/m. k) respectively.