To Study the Mechanical Properties of Unidirectionally and Cross Rolled Ni-Cu Alloy Produced in VIM

Abstract

Ni-Cu alloy was developed by melting in a vacuum induction furnace using pure elements i.e., Ni, Cu, Fe, Si, Mn and Cr. Four heats of approximately 4 kg each were prepared. All the heats have been casted in an ingot of 10 cm long and 5 cm in diameter in vacuum. These ingots were hot forged at a temperature of 900°C to break down the cast dendritic structure. All forged plates were cut into two halve. One half was rolled in unidirectional while other was rolled in multiple directions (cross rolling). During rolling after every 25 % reduction, the cold rolled samples were annealed at a temperature of 900°C for one hour. Each plate was cold rolled to a final thickness of 0.345 mm. Half of these rolled plate produced either by cross rolling or unidirectional rolling were annealed at 900°C for 20 minutes. The mechanical properties of each rolled plate in cold reduction and in annealed were also measured. Unidirectional rolling and cross rolling has almost similar mechanical properties. The annealing of cross rolled and unidirectional rolling drastically reduced the yield strength. It was observed that the Ni-Cu alloy produced has slightly lower yield and ultimate tensile strength compared to the values reported in standards of Monel-400. However, it is within the acceptable range to be used for the various applications.