Effect of matrix particle size on tribological behavior of copper-based friction materials

In this work, copper-based friction materials with different copper particle sizes are prepared by the hot press sintering, and the effect of copper matrix size on the microstructure, mechanical and friction/wear properties of materials are investigated. The results show that: As the particle size of the copper powder increase, the mechanical properties of the material continue to decrease. The copper powder of sample 3 (75 μm) can effectively change the bonding state of the hard phase and the matrix on the friction surface, and reduce surface voids. Moreover, when the pressure reaches 10 MPa, sample 3 exhibits excellent friction properties with the largest coefficient of friction (about 0.43) and the minimum amount of wear (about 7 mg).