Comparing of Commercial and Cemented Cu-SiC Composites

Abstract

SiC with 30 µm particle size reinforced copper composites have been fabricated by powder metallurgy method and sintered at 700• C for 2 h in open atmosphere. Copper powder was produced by cementation method and obtained as commercial for comparing. Cemented and commercial copper powders were reinforced with SiC having 30 µm particle size at ratios of 0, 1, 2, 3, and 5 wt% for improving mechanical properties of copper without decreasing the electrical conductivity. The presence of Cu and SiC which are dominant components in the sintered composites were conrmed by X-ray diraction analyses technique. Scanning electron microscope showed that SiC particles are distributed homogeneously in the copper matrix. The relative densities of Cu and CuSiC composites sintered at 700• C are ranged from 98.0% to 96.2% for commercial CuSiC composites, 97.55 to 95.0% for cemented CuSiC composites, microhardness of composites ranged from 133 to 277 HV for commercial CuSiC composites and 127 to 229 HV for cemented CuSiC composites, and the electrical conductivity of composites changed between 95.6%IACS and 77.2%IACS for commercial CuSiC composites, 91.7%IACS and 69%IACS for cemented CuSiC composites. It was observed that there is a good agreement between cemented CuSiC and commercial CuSiC composites.