Electrical conductivities and mechanical properties of Ti3SiC2 reinforced Cu-based composites prepared by cold spray

Abstract

In order to improve the wear resistance and oxidation resistance of Cu without compromising the electrical and thermal conductivities, Cu-xTi3SiC2 (x = 0, 10, 20, 30, 40, wt%) composites were prepared by cold spray, which can be used as an additive manufacturing technology. Comparing with Cu, the ultimate tensile strengths (UTS) of as-deposited composites increased significantly, with a slight loss in electrical and thermal conductivities. After annealing at 500 °C and 800 °C for 2 h in vacuum, the composites exhibited brittle and ductile fracture characteristics, respectively. The interface reaction between Cu and Ti3SiC2 was critical to its tensile properties. In these composites, the Cu-20Ti3SiC2 composite annealed at 800 °C possessed optimal overall performances, such as relatively higher UTS (304 MPa) and electrical conductivity (45.4% IACS).