Effect of Ratio of Copper Fiber/Copper Powder on Electrical Conductivity and Hardness of Copper/Graphite/Phenolic Resin Composites

Composites made of phenolic resin filled with graphite platelets and copper particles (copper powder, copper fiber or both mixture), are fabricated by mechanical mixing, followed by compression molding. SEM micrograph indicates that the fillers are homogenously dispersed in composite. The electrical conductivity of composite composed of 30 wt% resin, 50 wt% graphite and 20 wt% copper particle (10/10 wt/wt copper powder/copper fiber) is up to 65S/cm. The efficiency of copper fiber is compared with copper powder. The results show that copper fiber is more effective than copper powder in improving electrical conductivity for copper homogenously dispersed composite. The particle shape is also a principal factor in influencing hardness. In this study, the hardness of composites tends to increase with decreasing the ratio of copper fiber/copper powder.