Wear resistance and conducting property of laser-melted copper-graphene composite

Author(s)

Das, Rakesh ; de Oliveira, Raphael Benjamim ; Tromer, Raphael ; Galvao, Douglas S. ; Owuor, Peter Samora ; Khan, Abdullah ; Katiyar, Nirmal Kumar ; Machado, Leonardo Dantas ; Tiwary, Chandra Sekhar

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: PROGRESS IN ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING; v. N/A, p. 16-pg., 2025-03-12.

Abstract

Additive manufacturing/3D printing is currently utilized to build complex structures, such as heat exchangers. This paper investigates one of the additive manufacturing processes, powder bed fusion melting (PBF-M), with optimized laser power and scan rate to investigate the mechanical, tribological, and electrical properties of copper-graphene (Cu-GR) composite. We have employed a predetermined laser scan path to melt the Cu-GR alloy to improve the aforementioned properties. The microstructural and hardness of the Cu-GR composites have also been compared with PBF-M copper. Among the investigated Cu-GR composites, Cu-1wt%GR exhibits the highest micro-Vickers hardness value. This paper also demonstrates the upper limit to the concentration of GR that can be added as reinforcement to the Cu matrix for successful PBF-M process. Graphene addition to the Cu matrix and their uniform distribution achieved through PBF-M process has significant effect in mechanical and wear properties of the composites. The underlying mechanism of tribological and electrical properties have shown through experiments and Molecular Dynamics simulations, while Density Functional Theory simulations were also used to address the experimentally observed changes in electrical conductivity. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 13/08293-7 - CCES - Center for Computational Engineering and Sciences
• Grantee: Munir Salomao Skaf
• Support Opportunities: Research Grants - Research, Innovation and Dissemination Centers - RIDC