Thermal Cycling of Copper Based Composite Reinforced with High Modulus Carbon Fibres

The thermal expansion behaviour of Cu-1Cr/C composite subjected to 5 thermal cycles in the temperature range 30 - 1000 degrees C was investigated. The coefficients of thermal expansions (CTEs) as low as 0.7 x 10(-6) K-1 in longitudinal and as large as 24.0 x 10(-6) K-1 in transversal direction were obtained. Electron microscopy observations confirmed the high structural stability of the thermally cycled composite as no signs of disintegration were observed within the applied thermal cycling conditions.