Single Walled Carbon Nanotubes-Reinforced Metal Matrix Composite Materials Fabricated by Spark Plasma Sintering

Single walled carbon nanotubes were mixed with various metal powders by mechanical ball milling and sintered by spark plasma sintering processes. Two compositional (0.1 and 1 vol%) of the single walled carbon nanotubes were dispersed onto the pure aluminum, 5052 aluminum alloy, pure titanium, Ti6Al4Vanadium alloy, pure copper, and stainless steel 316L. Each composite powders were spark plasma sintered at $600^{\circ}C$ and well synthesized regardless of the matrices. Vickers hardness of the composite materials was measured and they exhibited higher values regardless of the carbon nanotubes composition than those of the pure materials. Moreover, single walled carbon nanotubes reinforced copper matrix composites showed highest enhancement between the other metal matrices system. We believe that low energy mechanical ball milling and spark plasma sintering processes are useful tool for fabricating of the carbon nanotubes-reinforced various metal matrices composite materials. The single walled carbon nanotubes-reinforced various metal matrices composite materials could be used as an engineering parts in many kind of industrial fields such as aviation, transportation and electro technologies etc. However, detail strengthening mechanism should be carefully investigated.

방전플라즈마 소결공정으로 제조된 단일벽탄소나노튜브 강화 금속기지 복합재료