Metal / Carbon Composites

Graphite in the form of flakes or foamed graphite offers among other materials the opportunity to create metal-graphite composites which, according to their graphite content and embodiment, serve as heat spreaders or heat sinks for thermal management applications, as a passive attenuator for equipment and mechanical engineering, or as a bearing material for slowly rotating slide bearings (i.e. under water). The properties like thermal conductivity, damping, coefficient of thermal expansion, E-modulus, and strength can be adapted to the intended application through the combination of materials. Matrices like copper, carbide formers like iron, aluminium and wolfram are used successfully. It is possible to realise graphite content up to 90 Vol. % without any pores using powder metallurgical manufacturing. A mechanical postprocessing, even with high graphite content, is possible.