A Novel Way to Fabricate Carbon Nanotubes Reinforced Copper Matrix Composites by Friction Stir Processing

Carbon nanotubes(CNTs) reinforced copper matrix composites were successfully produced by Friction Stir Processing (FSP). The effect of applying multiple FSP passes on the forming of composites was studied, the microstructure, microhardness and conductivity of the good forming composite were analyzed. The experimental results showed that CNTs uniformly distributed and good forming composite can be obtained by three FSP passes. Compared to the parent material, the grain size of the composite has significantly refined, and the microhardness of the composite has also greatly improved, but the conductivity of the composite has a small decrease.