Composites: Part B 43 (2012) 933–939

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Composites: Part B
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/compositesb

Effect of lubricants on warm compaction process of Cu-based composite

S.-S. Feng a, H.-R. Geng a,⇑, Zh.-Q. Guo b
a
School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Jinan, Ji’nan 250022, China
b
College of Materials Science and Engineering, Shandong University, Ji’nan 250061, China

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: The use of lubricant is the key of warm compaction technology. Because of admixed different lubricants,
Received 22 July 2011 the optimal parameters of warm compaction process were also different. This paper investigated the
Received in revised form 6 September 2011 effect of two kind of lubricants (zinc stearate and polystyrene) on the parameters of warm compaction
Accepted 16 September 2011
process by compared properties of Cu-based composite. It was shown that with the rise of compacting
Available online 29 September 2011
pressure, the density and hardness of the Cu-based composite increased, but the resistivity and gaining
weight reduced. With increasing compacting temperature, the density and hardness first increased and
Keywords:
then decreased, but the trend of resistivity and gaining weight just reversed. For the samples admixed
A. Metal-matrix composites (MMCs)
B. Electrical properties
zinc stearate (ZS), the optimal admixed concentration was 0.4 wt%, and the sample prepared at 120 °C
E. Powder processing and 650 MPa had the highest density and hardness, the lowest resistivity and gaining weight. For the
samples admixed polystyrene (PS), these parameters were 0.7 wt%, 140 °C and 650 MPa, respectively.
The properties of samples admixed PS were superior to that of admixed ZS.
Ó 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction iron-base powder metallurgy materials [15]. But it is not to report

for the preparation of Cu-based electrical contact materials.
For instrumentation and electrical switches, electrical contact is The aim of present paper is to study the effects of lubricants and
very important component. So its performances directly determine lubricant concentrations on the resistivity, density, hardness and
the switch’s reliability and service life [1]. At present, the vast antioxidant of Cu-based electrical contact materials. Then the opti-
majority of electrical contact materials are Ag-based composites mal compacting temperature and pressure were determined.
[2–4]. However, because of the limited resources of Ag and valu-
ableness, the research of saving on Ag and no Ag electrical contact
materials become an inevitable trend. The electrical conductivity 2. Experimental
and thermal conductivity of Cu are similar to Ag [5], so the study
of Cu-based composite has an important significance. The powders were prepared by mixing Cu–Re powders, other
Electrical contact materials are generally prepared by conven- additions of powder and lubricant. Zinc stearate (ZS) and polysty-
tional powder metallurgy process (PM). For powder metallurgy rene (PS) were used as lubricant in this study. Lubricant concentra-
(PM) materials, the density is crucial, which significantly affects tions are 0.4 wt%, 0.5 wt%, 0.6 wt% and 0.7 wt%, respectively. Table
the mechanical properties and physical properties of the materials 1 shows the composition of pre-mixed powder used in this study,
[6,7]. It is well known that increasing density is the best way to in- which is made up with Cu, Bi, B4C, lubricant and Re.
crease the performance of PM parts. There are some processes that The mixing time of the pre-mixed powder was 30 min by XQM
can increase density of PM parts, such as powder forging, double type planetary ball mill. Then the pre-mixed powder was heated to
press/double sinter (DP/DS) and Cu infiltration [8,9]. While provid- the pre-set temperature and pressed in a steel mold at different
ing good quality products, warm compaction is cost effective as pressures (350, 450, 550 and 650 MPa) and different temperatures
well [10–12]. In warm compaction process, the powder has to be (100, 120, 140 and 160 °C). Sintering was carried out in a high tem-
treated with special lubricant, and then heated to the pre-set tem- perature GSL-1600X type vacuum furnace, the compacted samples
perature and pressed in the die, which maintained for some times were protected with argon atmosphere at the temperature ranging
at the warm compacting temperature [13,14]. At present, warm from room temperature to 300 °C for 60 min, held isothermally for
compaction has been widely applied to the preparation of 60 min, then ranging from 300 °C to 900 °C for 120 min, held iso-
thermally for 120 min, and decreasing from 900 °C to 300 °C for
120 min, then cooling with the furnace. Density was measured
⇑ Corresponding author. by water displacement method. Resistivity was measured by four
E-mail addresses: [email protected] (S.-S. Feng), [email protected] point probe method. And antioxidant was measured by material
(H.-R. Geng). gaining weight. Hardness was measured by brinell hardness scle-

1359-8368/$ - see front matter Ó 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.compositesb.2011.09.004
934 S.-S. Feng et al. / Composites: Part B 43 (2012) 933–939

Table 1 120 °C with a density as high as 8.38 g/cm3, and the smallest den-
Composition of materials tested (wt%). sity is gained at 160 °C with 6.71 g/cm3. For the samples admixed
Bi B4C Lubricant Cu–Re Cu PS, at 650 MPa, the maximum density of samples is obtained at
2 2 0.4–0.7 0.2 Balance 140 °C with a density as high as 8.52 g/cm3, and the minimum den-
sity is gained at 100 °C with 7.00 g/cm3. Compared to Figs. 1 and 2,
it is also found that the densities of samples admixed PS are higher
than that of samples admixed ZS. And the maximum density of
rometer. The microstructure morphology was characterized by the
samples admixed PS is 0.14 g/cm3 higher than that of samples ad-
EVOMA 10 scanning electron microscopy (SEM).
mixed ZS.
For electrical contact materials, electrical property, which is
3. Results and discussion resistivity in the experiment, is one of the most important perfor-
mance. Figs. 3 and 4 indicate that the resistivity reduces with
3.1. Effects of compacting temperature and pressure on properties of increasing compacting pressure. However, at the same compacting
samples pressure, resistivity first increases and then reduces with the rise
of temperature. For the samples admixed ZS, at 650 MPa, the mini-
The degree of effect of warm compaction conditions on the den- mum and maximum resistivity are obtained at 120 °C and 160 °C
sity is in turn from big to small followed as the increase of the com- compacting temperature, the values of resistivity are 2.12 
pacting pressure, lubrication, compacting temperature and 10 8 X m and 3.52  10 8 X m. The values of minimum and maxi-
lubricant concentration. Figs. 1 and 2 are the density vs. compact- mum resistivity of samples admixed PS are gained at 140 °C with
ing pressure for the samples admixed ZS and PS, at the different 1.79  10 8 X m and 100 °C with 2.00  10 8 X m, respectively. It
compacting temperatures (100, 120, 140 and 160 °C). The results can be seen that the resistivities of samples admixed PS are smaller
show that the density increases with increasing pressure. And at than that of admixed ZS.
the same compacting pressure, the density first increases and then In the application of Cu-based electrical contact materials, the
decreases as the temperature rises. For the samples admixed ZS, at main obstacle is that Cu-based material is easily oxidized, which
650 MPa, the maximum density is obtained at approximately would lead to higher contact resistance. The smaller the weight of

Fig. 1. Relation between density and pressure for samples admixed ZS. Fig. 3. Relation between resistivity and pressure for samples admixed ZS.

Fig. 2. Relation between density and pressure for samples admixed PS. Fig. 4. Relation between resistivity and pressure for samples admixed PS.
 S.-S. Feng et al. / Composites: Part B 43 (2012) 933–939 935

Fig. 5. Relation between gaining weight and pressure for samples admixed ZS. Fig. 7. Relation between hardness and pressure for the samples admixed ZS.

Fig. 6. Relation between gaining weight and pressure for samples admixed PS.
Fig. 8. Relation between hardness and pressure for the samples admixed PS.

material increases, the better the oxidation resistance is. Figs. 5 and
6 show that, with increasing the pressure and temperature, the polymer would show itself three states successively: vitreous, plas-
gaining weight was similar to the trend of resistivity. For the sam- tic and viscous. In warm compaction process, the lubricant is in a
ples admixed ZS and PS, at 650 MPa, the minimum gaining weight viscous state in a certain temperature range which is at about
of samples are obtained at 120 °C and 140 °C, which is 2.16  10 2 g 120 °C and 140 °C for ZS and PS. Under pressure, the viscous lubri-
and 1.13  10 2 g, respectively. It is found that the gaining weight cation can flow among powder particles and between die wall and
of samples admixed PS is less than that of admixed ZS. particles, which can improve lubricate effect. Therefore, the value
Figs. 7 and 8 show that, with increasing the pressure and tem- of the frictional coefficient became smaller, the frictional resistance
perature, the hardness is similar to the trend of density. For the in powder compaction was reduced, that is to say that valid pres-
samples admixed ZS and PS, the maximum hardness are obtained sure was increased, which is advantageous to the remove, rear-
at 120 °C, 140 °C and 650 MPa, which is 55.8 HB and 60 HB. rangement and deform of powder particles, so the green density
Fig. 9a and b are the SEM image of samples admixed ZS, the was increased. In addition, lubricant could slower the premature
samples are prepared at 140 °C, 120 °C and 650 MPa, respectively. mechanical combination and microcold-weld, which reduces the
The irregular black blocks are B4C, it is uniformly distributed with- pressure loss and increases valid compacting stress. Consequently,
in the copper matrix. The main role of B4C is to improve wear resis- the green density was enhanced.
tance and resistance to arc erosion of Cu-based composite. It is The some properties of samples would be improved when the
found that the microstructure morphology of sample prepared at density increases. With increasing density, the gaps within the ma-
120 °C and 650 MPa, is smoother than that of sample prepared at trix would be reduced, which reduces the probability of electron
140 °C and 650 MPa. This result is exactly consistent with results scattering, and inhibits oxygen diffusion. Thence, for admixed ZS
of the above Figs. 1, 3, 5 and 7. and PS, the samples have lower resistivity, better oxidation resis-
On the one hand, the increase of the compacting pressure is tance and higher hardness at 120 °C, and 140 °C, respectively.
advantageous to the remove, rearrangement and deform of powder
particles. Therefore, the density of sample increases with increas- 3.2. Effects of lubricant concentrations on properties of samples
ing compacting pressure. On the other hand, the reason for the
above results is also closely related to the state of lubricant, which In the early experiments, the samples admixed 0.3% and 0.4% ZS
depends on temperature. Generally, with the rise of temperature, were prepared at 120 °C, 140 °C and 650 MPa. Then the densities of
936 S.-S. Feng et al. / Composites: Part B 43 (2012) 933–939

Fig. 9. SEM image of samples admixed ZS: (a) admixed 0.4 wt%, at 140 °C and 650 MPa; (b) admixed 0.7 wt%, at 120 °C and 650 MPa.

sintered samples were measured, the result showed that the den- Table 2 is the combination of factor level of orthogonal test. Table
sities of admixed 0.3% ZS were 8.27 g/cm3 and 8.20 g/cm3, and the 3 is the densities orthogonal array L16 (43) of admixed ZS and PS
densities of admixed 0.4% ZS were 8.35 g/cm3 and 8.30 g/cm3, samples which were prepared at the different temperatures, pres-
respectively. It is clear that the density of PM parts directly affects sure and lubricant concentrations, which is corresponding with Figs.
other properties of samples, so lubricant concentrations are 10 and 11. Figs. 10 and 11 indicate that the density increases with
0.4 wt%, 0.5 wt%, 0.6 wt% and 0.7 wt% in this study. the rise of the pressure, for the effect of lubricant concentrations

Table 2
Three-factor and four-level orthogonal array.

Level Factor
A B C
Lubricant concentration (%) Compacting temperature (°C) Compacting pressure (MPa)
One-level 0.6 100 650
Two-level 0.4 140 450
Three-level 0.5 160 550
Four-level 0.7 120 350

Table 3
The orthogonal array L16 (43) of density of samples admixed ZS and PS.

Lubricant concentration (%) Compacting temperature (°C) Compacting pressure (MPa) Density (g/cm3)
Admixed ZS Admixed PS
0.6 100 650 8.23 8.23
140 450 7.54 7.82
160 550 7.89 8.13
120 350 6.86 7.11
0.4 100 450 7.43 7.57
140 650 8.32 8.52
160 350 6.71 7.04
120 550 8.16 8.26
0.5 100 550 7.97 8.05
140 350 6.80 7.16
160 650 8.17 8.30
120 450 7.62 7.74
0.7 100 350 6.75 7.00
140 550 8.08 8.31
160 450 7.35 7.65
120 650 8.38 8.45
Admixed ZS k1 7.630 7.595 8.275 The optimum parameters: 0.4%, 120 °C and 650 MPa
k2 7.655 7.685 7.485
k3 7.640 7.685 8.025
k4 7.640 7.755 6.780
Range 0.025 0.225 1.495
Optimal schema A2 B4 C1
Admixed PS k1 7.822 7.713 8.375 The optimum parameters: 0.7%, 140 °C and 650 MPa
k2 7.848 7.953 7.695
k3 7.813 7.780 8.188
k4 7.853 7.890 7.078
Range 0.04 0.240 1.297
Optimal schema A4 B2 C1
 S.-S. Feng et al. / Composites: Part B 43 (2012) 933–939 937

Fig. 10. Relation between density and pressure of samples admixed ZS. Fig. 13. Relation between resistivity and pressure of samples admixed PS.

Fig. 11. Relation between density and pressure of samples admixed PS.
Fig. 14. Relation between gaining weight and pressure of samples admixed ZS.

Fig. 12. Relation between resistivity and pressure of samples admixed ZS.
Fig. 15. Relation between gaining weight and pressure of samples admixed PS.

on density of samples, it is no obvious regularity. But Table 3 shows

that, for admixed ZS and PS samples, the pressure range is maxi- pacting temperature and lubricant concentration. Therefore, as can
mum, and the lubricant concentrations range is minimum. It is also be seen from Tables 2 and 3, for admixed ZS samples, the optimum
found that the degree of effect of three factors on the density is in process parameters are that the lubricant concentration is 0.4%,
turn from big to small followed as the compacting pressure, com- the compacting temperature is 120 °C, and the compacting pressure
938 S.-S. Feng et al. / Composites: Part B 43 (2012) 933–939

Table 5
The properties of sintered samples prepared cold pressing and warm compaction.

Process Density Resistivity Gaining Hardness

(g/cm3) (10 8 X m) weight (HB)
(10 2 g)
Cold pressing 8.23 2.74 2.87 51.0
Warm
compactionAdmixed ZS8.382.122.1655.8Admixed PS8.521.791.1360.0

the lubricant gradually evaporated, and then the gaps were left
within the Cu matrix. Therefore, the density of samples may be re-
duce with increasing lubricant concentration. At the same time, if lu-
bricant concentration is lower, the lubricant can’t be completely
filled to between particles of powder, then the valid compacting
stress would reduce. There is a suitable concentration so as to obtain
the optimum properties of the composite.

Fig. 16. Relation between hardness and pressure of samples admixed ZS. 3.3. The difference of properties of sample prepared cold pressing and
warm compaction

Table 4 indicates that the green densities of samples admixed

ZS and PS prepared warm compaction all are higher than that of
samples prepared cold pressing. Table 5 compares the properties
of sintered samples prepared cold pressing and warm compaction.
It is found that the properties of samples prepared warm compac-
tion are superior to that of cold pressing. For the phenomenon, the
reason is that ZS and PS are in a viscous state at the optimal tem-
perature and penetrated between particles of the powder under
the compaction pressure, which improves the effective pressure
and accelerates the rearrangement of particles. Therefore, the sam-
ples prepared warm compaction have satisfactory performances.

4. Conclusions

(1) For samples admixed ZS and PS, with the rise of compacting
pressure, the density and hardness of Cu-based composite in
warm compaction process increase. And the resistivity and
gaining weight reduce.
Fig. 17. Relation between hardness and pressure of samples admixed PS.
(2) For admixed ZS and PS of samples, with increasing compact-
ing temperature, the density and hardness first increase and
then decrease, but the trend of resistivity and gaining weight
Table 4 just reverse.
The green densities of samples prepared cold pressing and warm compaction.
(3) The optimal compacting temperatures are 120 °C and
Process Cold pressing Warm compaction 140 °C, for the samples admixed ZS and PS. Above or low
Admixed ZS Admixed PS the optimal compacting temperature, the density would
decrease slightly, which is mainly caused by the feature of
Density (g/cm3) 8.16 8.27 8.39
lubricant. And the optimal lubricant concentrations are
0.4 wt% and 0.7 wt%.
is 650 MPa. For admixed PS samples, the optimum process parame- (4) Compared to the density, resistivity, antioxidant and hardness
ters are 0.7%, 140 °C and 650 MPa, respectively. of Cu-based composite, the properties of samples admixed PS
Figs. 12–17 show that, the hardness increases with the rise of are superior to that of admixed ZS.
the pressure, the resistivity and gaining weight reduce. For the ef- (5) The properties of samples prepared warm compaction are
fects of lubricant concentrations on hardness, resistivity and gain- better than that of samples prepared cold pressing.
ing weight of samples, there is no obvious regularity. The reasons
of causing the phenomenons are similar to that of Figs. 10 and
11. However, as a whole, the optimal concentration is 0.4 wt% for
Acknowledgments
the samples admixed ZS, it is 0.7 wt% for the samples admixed PS.
For warm compaction process, one of the crucial factors is to seek
This work was supported by the project of the National Natural Sci-
the appropriate lubricant and lubricant concentration. At the opti-
ence Foundation of China (No. 50871047), the Natural Science Founda-
mal temperature, ZS and PS are fused due to the compaction pres-
tion of Shandong Province of China (ZR2010EM071) and Key Subject
sure, then penetrated between particles of the powder by capillary
(Laboratory) Research Foundation of Shandong Province.
force in order to decreasing the contact resistance between the par-
ticles, which is good for accelerating the rearrangement of the parti-
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