Tribological Performance of Microwave-Heat-Treated Copper–Graphite Composites

Copper–graphite composite is a tribological composite that can be used in sliding electrical contact applications requiring low friction and wear in addition to high electrical conductivity. The graphite powder (5 wt%) was mixed with the copper powder, and then composite was fabricated through powder metallurgy (P/M) route. P/M product generally requires secondary operations such as rolling, extrusion, etc. to improve their mechanical properties. Post-heat-treatment technique is also applicable to improve the properties of P/M components. Microwave-post-heat-treatment research studies are gaining momentum nowadays due to the improved quality of products with reduced time, energy, and associated cost. Microwave post-heat treatment of copper–graphite composites for different heat treating duration was carried out in a hybrid microwave heating setup. Microstructural studies were carried out using SEM with EDAX. Microwave-heat-treated samples exhibited reduced porosity, improved density, and hardness. In order to understand the friction and wear properties of microwave-heat-treated copper–graphite composites, pin-on-disk wear experiments were conducted. For comparison, untreated copper–graphite composites were also subjected to similar studies. Microwave-heat-treated samples exhibited reduced coefficient of friction and specific wear rate when compared to the untreated ones. The wear mechanism of untreated composites was observed to be plastic deformation characterized by large wear fragments, whereas the mechanism of heat-treated composite was delamination observed through peel off tribolayer.