Study of the heat treatment modes of a two-component innovative copper-iron alloy

Abstract

The development of innovative engineering technologies promotes the development of low-alloy copper-based alloys with good thermal and electrical conductivity combined with high mechanical, technological and operational properties. Low-alloy copper alloys mainly belong to the class of wrought alloys. There is a large group of low-alloy copper alloys with high casting and technological properties, intended for the production of workpieces by methods of foundry technology. These include low-alloy copper-iron alloys, which are of interest both as substitutes for chromium bronzes and for the development of modern machine-building parts obtained by casting technology. These alloys belong to the class of dispersion hardening, the mechanical properties and thermal conductivity of which significantly increase their performance after heat treatment (HT). In the work, complex studies of the effect of modes of low-alloyed Cu – 2.65% Fe alloy HT on mechanical properties and electrical conductivity were carried out. The analysis of the effect of Cu – 2.65% Fe alloy HT was carried out in two modes based on thermal annealing and hardening with aging in the temperature range from 300 to 1000 oC and with a test step of 50 oC for the first mode and 100 oC for the second one. A metallographic analysis of the microstructure of the alloy was performed in the range of the studied temperature values. The optimal HT mode was established: hardening at a temperature of 1030 oC followed by aging for 1–2 hours at 500 oC. An X-ray spectral analysis of the alloy samples with the optimal HT mode was carried out. A multilayer map of the alloying components distribution of the Cu – 2.65% Fe alloy after HT is presented.