Effect of carbon nanotube and silicon carbide on microstructure and dry sliding wear behavior of copper hybrid nanocomposites

Microstructure and tribological properties of copper-based hybrid nanocomposites reinforced with copper coated multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and silicon carbide (SiC) were studied. Carbon nanotube was varied from 1% to 4% with silicon carbide content being fixed at 4%. The synthesis of copper hybrid nanocomposites involves ball milling, cold pressing and sintering followed by hot pressing. The developed hybrid nanocomposites were subjected to density, grain size, and hardness tests. The tribological performances of the nanocomposites were assessed by carrying out dry sliding wear tests using pin-on-steel disc tribometer at different loads. A significant decrease in grain size was observed for the developed hybrid composites when compared with pure copper. An improvement of 80% in the micro-hardness of the hybrid nanocomposite has been recorded for 4% carbon nanotubes reinforced hybrid composites when compared with pure copper. An increase in content of CNTs in the hybrid nanocomposites results in lowering of the friction coefficient and wear rates of hybrid nanocomposites.