Comparative study of mechanical and wear behavior of Cu/WS2 composites fabricated by spark plasma sintering and hot pressing

The mechanical and wear behavior of copper-tungsten disulfide (Cu/WS2) composites fabricated by spark plasma sintering (SPS) and hot pressing (HP) was investigated, comparatively. Results indicated that the addition of lubricant WS2 substantially reduced wear rate of the Cu matrix composites fabricated by SPS, and the optimum content of WS2 is 20 wt% with regard to the wear behavior. However, it affected a little to the wear rate while dramatically decreased the friction coefficient of the composite fabricated by HP. This difference in friction behavior of the self-lubricating composites fabricated by the two techniques was closely related to their different mechanical properties. Severe interfacial reaction occurred during spark plasma sintering, leading to brittle phase formation at interface.