Microstructural characterization and dry sliding wear behavior of spark plasma sintered Cu-YSZ composites

In the present study, yttria stabilized zirconia （YSZ） reinforced Cu matrix composite specimens were produced by spark plasma sintering （SPS）. For comparison, pure Cu specimen was also produced in the same conditions. The effect of particles content on microstructure, relative density, electrical conductivity, and Vickers hardness was evaluated. The pin-on-disk test was also performed to determine dry sliding wear behavior of specimens under different wear conditions. After sliding wear tests, the worn surfaces were examined by field emission scanning electron microscopy （FE-SEM）. Microstructural study showed satisfactory distribution of reinforcement particles in copper matrix. The relative density up to 95%was obtained for all specimens. By increasing YSZ content from 0 to 5% （volume fraction）, the electrical conductivity of specimens decreased from 99.2%IACS to 65%IACS, correspondingly. The hardness of Cu-5%YSZ composite specimen was two times greater than that of pure copper. The volume loss and wear rate of pure Cu specimen were 1.48 mm^3 and 1.5±10^-3 mm^3/m under 50 N applied load and 1000 m sliding distance. However, for composite containing 5% YSZ particles, these values dropped to 0.97 mm^3 and 0.9±10^-3 mm^3/m, respectively. Moreover, the friction coefficient of specimens was changed from 0.6 to 0.4. The worn surface and debris observation indicate local plastic deformation and delamination as dominant wear mechanisms for pure copper, while oxidation and ploughing for composite specimen. Accordingly, it can be concluded that the Cu-YSZ composite could be a good candidate for the electrical contact applications in relays, contactors, switches and circuit breakers requiring good electrical and thermal conductivity and capability to resist wearing.

Spark Plasma Sintering of Ultrafine YSZ Reinforced Cu Matrix Functionally Graded Composite

Copper matrix composites have received more attentions as possible candidate for thermal and electrical conductive materials to be used in electrical contact applications. In this study, five-layered Cu/YSZ （yttria-stabilized zirconia） functionally graded material （FGM） and copper matrix composite specimens containing 3 and 5 vol% YSZ particles plus pure Cu specimen were synthesized using powder metallurgy （PM） route and spark plasma sintering （SPS） consolidation process. The microstructural and some physical, mechanical features of all specimens were characterized. Microscopic examinations showed that ultrafine YSZ particles were distributed in the copper matrix almost homoge- neously. An appropriate interface was observed at each layer of FGM. The density measurement indicated that the graded structure of the composite could be well densified after the SPS process. The microhardness values of various layers of Cu/ YSZ FGM specimen were gradually altered from 56.3 （pure copper side） to 75.2 HV （Cu-5 vol% YSZ side）. The increase of YSZ content resulted in a decrease in electrical conductivity. Additionally, thermal conductivity of Cu/YSZ FGM specimen [308.0 W/（m K）] was determined to be higher than that of the Cu-5 vol% YSZ composite specimen [260.7 W/ （m K）]. Accordingly, it can be concluded that the Cu/YSZ FGM can be a good candidate for the electrical applications, like sliding electrical contacts, where different material characteristics in the same component are required.