Study on Dry Friction and Wear Properties of Copper-matrix Composites Reinforced with Nitrides Ceramics Particles

Pure copper and its composites reinforced with AlNp and TiNp were prepared by powder metallurgy. Dry friction and wear properties of pure copper and its composites reinforced with AlNp and TiNp of different volume fractions were investigated under various loads and sliding velocity. Worn surface morphologies of pure copper and its composites were observed on a scanning electron microscope, element constitute of wear surface was investigated by energy dispersive spectrometry. As a results, copper matrix composites reinforced with AlNp and TiNp exhibited much better wear-resistance than that of pure copper. Wear rate of AlNp/Cu and TiNp/Cu composites decreased steadily as the particle contents increased. As load and sliding velocity increased, thermal effect aggravated wear rate of pure copper and its composites. Wear rate and friction coefficients of TiNp/Cu are lower than that of AlN/Cu composites, the reason is that hardness of TiNp is higher than that of AlNp and TiNp possess self-lubrication properties.