Preparation of Carbon Fibre Reinforced Copper Matrix Composite using Electroplating in Laboratory for Electrical Power Applications

The adhesion between the copper alloy used as matrix material and the carbon fibres is of particular importance for the mechanical and functional properties of the resulting composite, and also for its handling and for the lifetime of the final product. Since the adhesion behaviour between matrix and reinforcement component of the composite depends significantly on the composition and the microstructure of the matrix material, the task of this paper is to describe composition (and elemental distribution) and microstructure of three selected samples that were manufactured using different bath compositions (electrolyte), processes and process parameters. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) were used as the analytical techniques to characterise composition and microstructure of the Cu/CF composite materials, including the Cu/C interfaces, specific materials information is provided and discussed taking into account the processes and process parameters.