Study on Friction Properties and Thermal Conductivity of Nickel Plated Graphite/Aluminum Composites

Electroless nickel plating on the surface of lamellar graphite was carried out. Nickel coated graphite/aluminum composites were prepared by vacuum hot pressing. The microstructure, friction and wear properties and thermal conductivity of nickel coated graphite/aluminum composites were studied, which were compared with those of spherical graphite/aluminum composites. The results show that nickel plating can effectively improve the interfacial bonding between graphite and aluminum. When the mass fraction of graphite is more than 20wt%, nickel-coated graphite/aluminum composites have lower friction coefficient and better heat dissipation. When the graphite mass fraction is 30wt%, the friction coefficient of the nickel-plated sheet graphite/aluminum composite material is as low as 0.16, and the wear amount is about 1/3 of the wear amount of the spherical graphite/aluminum composites. The thermal conductivity of 381 W/（m·K） is 2.9 times of that of spherical graphite/aluminum composites, and the comprehensive properties are outstanding.