Volgograd State Technical University, Volgograd, Russia

N. A. Kidalov, Head of the Department of Machinery and Foundry Technology, Doctor of Technical Sciences
N. Yu. Miroshkin, Head of the Laboratory of the Department of Machinery and Foundry Technology, Candidate of Technical Sciences, e-mail: nikolays34rus@gmail.com
A. A. Belov, Candidate of Technical Sciences, Associate Professor of the Department of Machinery and Foundry Technology
S. R. Polyak, Postgraduate Student of the Department of Machinery and Foundry Technology

The results of research on the development of metal-filled composite materials based on graphite by an electrochemical method, the essence of which lies in the recovery of copper in pre-filled open pores of a graphite base with a copper electrolyte, are presented. The use of this method of reinforcing a graphite base instead of traditional ones based on the use of high-temperature equipment and high overpressure will make it possible to obtain a composite material with lower labor and energy costs as current-removing elements, for example, brushes of electric motors and pantographs of electrified urban transport. Studies have shown that when using a sulfuric acid electrolyte, copper is recovered to a depth of 2 mm from the surface of the graphite base. At the same time, pores of 30–100 microns in size are completely filled with copper on the surface of the workpiece, in pores of 100–700 microns in size, copper is present as a coating on their walls, and at a depth of 2 mm from the surface, copper is in the form of a thin coating distributed along the walls of the pores. Studies of the structure of composites obtained from pyrophosphate electrolyte have shown that most pores on the surface of the composite material are filled with metal, regardless of their size. At the same time, at a depth of 1 mm from the surface of the graphite base, pores of 30–100 microns and 100–300 microns are also filled with copper, and in pores of 300–700 microns in size, the metal is recovered as a coating on the surfaces of the pores. A recess of 2–3 mm from the surface of the composite has revealed that the morphology of the copper distribution does not change. Thus, the use of pyrophosphate electrolyte has made it possible to electrochemically form a copper frame in the open pores of an EG-14 graphite brush to a depth of 3 mm, which has led to a change in the properties of the material, namely, a decrease in electrical resistivity by 11.9 times compared with the initial one.
The research was carried out at the expense of the development program funds of Volgograd State Technical University “Priority 2030”, as part of the scientific project No. 8/648-24.

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