Comparative study of friction and wear behavior of C/C/Cu and C/Cu composites

A novel C/C/Cu composite with excellent wear resistance was fabricated by pressureless infiltration. The tribological behavior of the composite was evaluated using UMT-3 test system，and compared with C/Cu composite prepared by traditional powder metallurgy process. C/C/Cu composite has better electrical conductivity and mechanical performance compared to C/Cu composite，which may be attributed to the 3D net-like interconnected structure. The friction coefficients of both composites are similar. The wear rates of both the composites and corresponding counterparts increase with the rising load. C/C/Cu composite shows a significantly better wear resistance and causes small damage to the counterpart，especially under a load of 70N. The interconnected structure and a continuous debris layer are main causes for favorable tribological characteristics of C/C/Cu composite.