Institute of Fundamental Technological Research

In this work alumina preforms with an open porosity of 85 and 90% were produced by the replication method. The obtained preforms were used for the fabrication of Cu–Al2O3 composites. We analyzed the effect of applying pressure during a hot-pressing process on the microstructure and mechanical and thermal properties of the obtained materials. It was found that application of higher pressure (10 MPa) during sintering led to the destruction of the ceramic preforms. It facilitated filling of the remaining pores with copper, which resulted in a more homogeneous material with better mechanical and thermal properties.

Cu–Al2O3 composites, hot-pressing process, ceramic reforms, microstructure, mechanical properties

This paper presents new solution to manufacturing Cu-Al2O3 composites with a dispersed reinforcement phase. It consists in substituting commonly used commercial alumina powder with crushed ceramic foam. Very low strength of thin-walled Al2O3 porous foams results in both their easy destruction and isolation of fragments <200 μm. The addition of the ceramic phase is 3-10 vol.%. The sintering process is performed for 30 min in a hot-press at 1050°C and 30 MPa. The aim of the presented paper is to study the effect of the volume content of the ceramic phase on the microstructure and selected physical and thermal properties of copper - alumina composites.

ceramic preform, composite, copper, sintering