An investigation on wear behavior of Cu-graphite nanocomposites prepared by flake powder metallurgy

Purpose - The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of nanographite content and the sliding time on the wear behavior of Cu-graphite nanocomposites. Design/methodology/approach - Cu-graphite nanocomposites were produced by flake powder metallurgy from the copper and nanographite powders in the range of 0- 5 wt.% of graphite. The effect of sliding time and content of B4C particles on the wear behavior of Cu-graphite nanocomposites was analyzed. Findings - Results show that the wear mechanisms of copper and Cu-graphite nanocomposites are adhesive wear and delaminating wear, respectively. It was observed that the wear loss increased with increasing load. Wear loss of the Cu-graphite nanocomposites decreased with increase in graphite content. This was related to change in wear mechanism from adhesive to delamination wear. Originality/value - Although there are a wide range of applications for Cu-based materials, there is a scarcity of literatures on the wear behavior of Cu-nanographite composites that can be used for electrical contact applications.