Mechanical properties of copper-coated carbon foams

The mechanical properties of copper-coated carbon foam were investigated. Reticulated vitreous carbon cell type foams, with 97% porosity and 10 ppi pore size, were electroplated with copper for different periods of time to obtain coatings with different thicknesses and foams with different porosities. Compression tests were performed to determine the Young’s modulus and the plateau stress. The copper electroplating technique improved these two properties, with the modulus increasing from 4.5 to 8.6 MPa for the sample electroplated for 40 min and the plateau stress increasing from 54 to 171 kPa for the foam coated for 80 min. The relationships between the measured properties and the copper weight ratio were determined.