Design of low-alloying and high-performance solid solution-strengthened copper alloys with element substitution for sustainable development

Solid solution-strengthened copper alloys have the advantages of a simple composition and manufacturing process,high mechanical and electrical comprehensive performances,and low cost;thus,they are widely used in high-speed rail contact wires,electronic component connectors,and other devices.Overcoming the contradiction between low alloying and high performance is an important challenge in the development of solid solution-strengthened copper alloys.Taking the typical solid solution-strengthened alloy Cu-4Zn-1Sn as the research object,we proposed using the element In to replace Zn and Sn to achieve low alloying in this work.Two new alloys,Cu-1.5Zn-1Sn-0.4In and Cu-1.5Zn-0.9Sn-0.6In,were designed and prepared.The total weight percentage content of alloying elements decreased by 43%and 41%,respectively,while the product of ultimate tensile strength(UTS)and electrical conductivity(EC)of the annealed state increased by 14%and 15%.After cold rolling with a 90%reduction,the UTS of the two new alloys reached 576 and 627MPa,respectively,the EC was 44.9%IACS and 42.0%IACS,and the product of UTS and EC(UTS×EC)was 97%and 99%higher than that of the annealed state alloy.The dislocations proliferated greatly in cold-rolled alloys,and the strengthening effects of dislocations reached 332 and 356 MPa,respectively,which is the main reason for the considerable improvement in mechanical properties.

Microstructure and thermal properties of dissimilar M300–CuCr1Zr alloys by multi-material laser-based powder bed fusion

Multi-material laser-based powder bed fusion (PBF-LB) allows manufacturing of parts with 3-dimensional gradient and additional functionality in a single step. This research focuses on the combination of thermally-conductive CuCr1Zr with hard M300 tool steel.Two interface configurations of M300 on CuCr1Zr and CuCr1Zr on M300 were investigated. Ultra-fine grains form at the interface due to the low mutual solubility of Cu and steel. The material mixing zone size is dependent on the configurations and tunable in the range of0.1–0.3 mm by introducing a separate set of parameters for the interface layers. Microcracks and pores mainly occur in the transition zone.Regardless of these defects, the thermal diffusivity of bimetallic parts with 50vol% of CuCr1Zr significantly increases by 70%–150%compared to pure M300. The thermal diffusivity of CuCr1Zr and the hardness of M300 steel can be enhanced simultaneously by applying the aging heat treatment.

Spectra-assisted laser focusing in quantitative analysis of laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy for copper alloys

Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy(LIBS)is a capable technique for elementary analysis,while LIBS quantitation is still under development.In quantitation,precise laser focusing plays an important role because it ensures the distance between the laser and samples.In the present work,we employed spectral intensity as a direct way to assist laser focusing in LIBS quantitation for copper alloys.It is found that both the air emission and the copper line could be used to determine the position of the sample surface by referencing the intensity maximum.Nevertheless,the fine quantitation was only realized at the position where the air emission(e.g.O(I)777.4 nm)reached intensity maximum,and also in this way,a repeatable quantitation was successfully achieved even after 120 days.The results suggested that the LIBS quantitation was highly dependent on the focusing position of the laser,and spectra-assisted focusing could be a simple way to find the identical condition for different samples’detection.In the future,this method might be applicable in field measurements for LIBS analysis of solids.

Wear Evaluation of Copper-Nickel-Aluminum Alloys under Extreme Conditions

Cu-Ni-Al alloys at different concentrations were obtained using a high frequency induction melting unit, keeping a balance in the nominal compositions. Light alloys are important to be used in industrial applications. Aluminum additions result in a positive hardness increment of the ternary alloys in comparison with the binary Cu-Ni alloys. Generalized wear mechanisms of the alloys with low aluminum content are basically type abrasive, while samples with 5 and 10 at.% Al present an oxidative-adhesive wear mechanism. Wear results have indicated that aluminum addition affects positively the wear resistance, mainly in samples with high aluminum content product of the creation during the test of different oxides corresponding to the elements present in the alloys.

Effect of process parameters on the morphology of aluminum/copper alloy lap joints by red and blue hybrid laser welding

In order to overcome the problems of many pores,large deformation and unstable weld quality of traditional laser welded aluminumcopper alloy joints,a red-blue dual-beam laser source and a swinging laser were introduced for welding.T2 copper and 6063 aluminum thin plates were lap welded by coaxial dual-beam laser welding.The morphology of weld cross section was compared to explore the influence of process parameters on the formation of lap joints.The microstructure characteristics of the weld zone were observed and compared by optical microscope.The results show that the addition of laser beam swing can eliminate the internal pores of the weld.With the increase of the swing width,the weld depth decreases,and the weld width increases first and then decreases.The influence of welding speed on the weld cross section morphology is similar to that of swing width.With the increase of welding speed,the weld width increases first and then decreases,while the weld depth decreases all the time.This is because that the red laser is used as the main heat source to melt the base metals,with the increase of red laser power,the weld depth increases.As an auxiliary laser source,blue laser reduces the total energy consumption,consequently,the effective heat input increases and the spatter is restrained effectively.As a result,the increase of red laser power has an enhancement effect on the weld width and weld depth.When the swing width is 1.2 mm,the red laser power is 550 W,the blue laser power is 500 W,and the welding speed is 35 mm/s,the weld forming is the best.The lap joint of T2 copper and 6063 aluminum alloy thin plate can be connected stably with the hybrid of blue laser.The effect rules of laser beam swing on the weld formation were obtained,which improved the quality of the joints.

Application of Lanthanum in High Strength and High Conductivity Copper Alloys

China is quite poor in argent resource. Roughly 80% of this industrial argent is imported every year. In order to improve the situation, we took advantage of rare earth (RE) mineral resource and successfully developed the non-argent Lanthanum-tellurium-copper alloy as a substitute for industry argent-copper. In our research, we were able to successfully apply rare earth lanthanum to copper alloy. The defects as porosity, inclusion, etc. originating from nonvacuum melting processing were controlled. Fine grain was obtained. Meanwhile, the comprehensive properties of the copper alloy, such as strength, conductivity and thermal conductivity were improved. The research results in increasing conductivity and thermal conductivity by 5% and 15%, respectively, while the tensile strength is increased by 6% higher than Ag-Cu alloy. The anti-electric corrosion property is good, and there is no argent-cadmium steam population originating from the electric arc effect. The addition of lanthanum further reduces the content of oxygen and hydrogen. The optimum quantity of the addition of RE lanthanum in the copper alloy is 0.010% - 0.020% .

Electrodeposition of aluminium and aluminium-copper alloys from a room temperature ionic liquid electrolyte containing aluminium chloride and triethylamine hydrochloride

The electrodeposition of A1 and A1-Cu binary alloys on to gold substrates from a room temperature ionic liquid electrolyte containing A1C13-EtaNHC1 was studied. The electrochemical behavior of the electrolyte and the mechanism of deposition were investigated through cyclic voltammetry （CV）, and the properties of deposits obtained were assessed by scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy （SEM-EDS） and X-ray diffraction （XRD）. A1 of 70μm in thickness and an A1-Cu alloy of 30μm in thickness with 8at% copper were deposited from the electrolyte. SEM images of the deposits indicate that the A1 deposit was smooth and uniform, whereas the Al-Cu deposit was nodular. The average crystalline size, as determined by XRD patterns, was found to be （30±5） and （29±5） nm, respectively, for A1 and A1-Cu alloys. Potentiodynamic polarization （Tafel plots） and electrochemical impedance spectroscopic （EIS） measurements showed that Al-Cu alloys are more corrosion resistant than Al.

Microstructures and properties of Al_2O_3 dispersion-strengthened copper alloys prepared through different methods

Al2O3 dispersion copper alloy powder was prepared by intemal oxidation, and three consolidation methods--high-velocity compaction （HVC）, hot pressing （HP）, and hot extrusion （HE）--were used to prepare Al2O3 dispersion-strengthened copper （Cu-Al2O3） alloys. The microstructures and properties of these alloys were investigated and compared. The results show that the alloys prepared by the HP and HE methods exhibited the coarsest and finest grain sizes, respectively. The alloy prepared by the HVC method exhibited the lowest relative density （98.3% vs. 99.5% for HP and 100% for HE）, which resulted in the lowest electrical conductivity （81% IACS vs. 86% IACS for HP and 87% IACS for HE）. However, this alloy also exhibited the highest hardness （77 HRB vs. 69 HRB for HP and 70 HRB for HE）, the highest compressive strength （443 MPa vs. 386 MPa for I/P and 378 MPa for HE）, and the best hardness retention among the investigated alloys. The results illustrate that the alloy prepared by the HVC method exhibits high softening temperature and good mechanical properties at high temperatures, which imply long service life when used as spot-welding electrodes.

Transient liquid phase diffusion bonding of copper alloy to stainless steel using CuMn alloys as interlayer

With CuMn alloy as interlayer, the transient liquid phase (TLP) diffusion bonding of Cu alloys (CuAlBe) to stainless steel (1Cr18Ni9Ti) was studied. The results show that the bonding pressure, time and temperature and the content of Mn in CuMn alloy have great effects on the strength of bonding interface; when they are 1 MPa, 40 min, 1 223 K and 30% respectively, the maximum joint strength of 487 MPa is attained. The fracture occurring at the bonding interface is a plastic one and the effect of Mn has been analyzed.

Study on Grain Boundary Structure and Corrosion Behavior of Copper Alloys

The grain boundary structure of Cu alloy was observed and the characteristic of the boundaries was studied,including 70∶30 cupronickel and 70∶30 brass. The results show that in the case of the 70∶30 cupronickel thin platelets with nickel and iron enrichment in it precipitate intergranular so that the alloy was sensitive to seawater corrosion. In the case of 70∶30 brass the situation of grain boundary segregation of different inclusions made the corrosion resistance of the alloy even worse. All of those were discovered through the corrosion behavior of the two different copper alloys served in various environments. The experimental methods used here were, scanning electron microscopy(SEM), transmission electron microscopy(TEM) and energy dispersive of X ray(EDX). The intergranular corrosion morphologies of those copper alloys served in engineering or exposed to seawater for a long term were given.

Localized corrosion of copper alloys in China seawater for 16 years

The regulation of localized corrosion of 2 kinds of copper and 17 kinds of copper alloys exposed in seawater of Qingdao, Zhoushan, Yulin and Xiamen for 16 years has been studied. Results show that during immersion copper alloys suffer from pitting corrosion due to high temperature and marine living adhesion at Yulin, and to the higher velocity of seawater containing sand at Zhoushan. However, the seawater of Xiamen inhibits the pitting (corrosion) of copper alloys. No pitting corrosion is observed on copper alloy plates tested there. The copper alloys suffer from more serious pitting corrosion in the tide zone than that in the immersion zone at Qingdao after long time exposure.

Effect of cold rolling on properties and microstructures of dispersion strengthened copper alloys

Mechanical properties and microstructures of unidirectionally and tandem rolled alumina dispersion strengthened copper(ADSC)alloys under different conditions were investigated by tensile test,optical microscopy(OM),transmission electron microscopy(TEM)and scanning electron microscopy(SEM).For unidirectionally rolled ADSC alloys,their strengths and elongations in the longitudinal direction are higher than those in the transverse direction under both cold rolling and annealing conditions.Once fracture appears in their longitudinal stress—strain curves,sudden reduction of overall stress level before complete fracture can be observed in the transverse tensile curves.The anisotropy of mechanical properties for the ADSC alloy can be greatly improved by tandem cold rolling.And no sudden reduction of overall stress level appears in the stress—strain curves for tandem rolled ADSC alloys.The differences of their microstructures and tensile fractures were analyzed.In order to compare the differences of tensile fracture mechanism in different directions,longitudinal and transverse fracture models for unidirectionally rolled ADSC alloys were also introduced.

Electrochemical formation of holmium-copper alloys on copper cathode in molten KCl-HoCl_3

Cyclic voltammetry, open circuit potential— time curve after potentiostatic electrolysis and potential step chronoamperometry were used to investigate the electrochemical formation processes of holmium-copper alloys on copper cathode in molten HoCl3-KCl. Intermetallic compounds HoCu5, HoCu4, HoCu2 and HoCu are formed in sequence and then the metallic Ho is deposited when Ho3+ is reduced on copper electrode in molten KCl-HoCl3 at 1066 K. The first charge-transfer reaction is reversible. The structure of holmium-copper alloy film deposited on copper electrode by potentiostatic electrolysis was characterized by X-ray diffraction. The standard free energies of formation for the intermetallic compounds HoCu5, HoCu4, HoCu2 and HoCu are - 95.5, - 92.6, - 73.8 and - 44.0 kJ/mol, respectively. The diffusion coefficient and diffusion activation energy of Ho atom in the alloy are estimated to be 10-10- 10-11 cm2/s and 75.35 kJ/mol, respectively, from the chronoamperometry data.

Absorptivity and Effect of Rare Earth on Pure Copper and Its Alloys

Choosing two different elements of rare earth, the absorptivity of them on copper and its alloys were researched from the category of rare earth, melting point, adding methods, casting temperature, time of heat preservation, quantity of rare earth additives etc. The laws of affecting the absorptivity are found through the research. The distributing of rare earth, existent state and the formed compounds on copper and its alloys were observed in the casting state. The absorptivities of rare earth on copper and its alloys were analyzed.

A new acid pickling process for copper alloys

The cleaning process of removing oxides on the surface of copper alloy sheetswas investigated systematically. Through optimizing, a perfect process was selected that is fit forremoving oxides on the surface. By acid pickling, all kinds of copper oxides are removedcompletely, furthermore, no poisonous gases are given out and a smooth and clean surface of copperalloys is obtained. At present, the process is applied successfully in the copper-processingindustry.

<i>In Situ</i>Analysis of Copper Alloys by Femtosecond Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry: Constrains on Matrix Effects

Direct analysis of copper-base alloys using laser ablation techniques is an increasingly common procedure in cultural heritage studies. However, main discussions remain focused on the possibility of using non-matrix matched external reference materials. To evaluate the occurrence of matrix effects during in situ microanalysis of copper-base materials, using near infrared femtosecond laser ablation techniques (NIR fs-LA-ICP-MS), two bronzes, i.e., (Sn-Zn)-ternary and (Sn)-binary copper-matrix reference materials, as well as a reference synthetic glass (NIST-SRM-610) have been analyzed. The results have been compared to data obtained on a sulfide-matrix reference material. Similar values in relative sensitivity averages of 63Cu, 118Sn and 66Zn, as well as in 118Sn/63Cu and 66Zn/63Cu ratios were obtained, for all analyzed matrix types, i.e., copper-base-, silicate-, and sulfide-reference materials. Consequently, it is possible to determinate major and minor element concentrations in copper alloys, i.e., Cu, Sn and Zn, using silicate and sulfide reference materials as external calibrators, without any matrix effect and over a wide range of concentrations (from wt.% to ppm). Equally, Cu, Sn and Zn concentrations can be precisely determined in sulfides using homogeneous alloys (reference) materials as an external calibrator. Thus, it is possible to determine Cu, Sn and Zn in copper-base materials and their ore minerals, mostly sulfides, in a single analytical session, without requiring specific external calibrators for each matrix type. In contrast, immiscible elements in copper matrix, such as Pb and Fe show notable differences in their relative sensitivity values and ratios for different matrix-materials analyzed, implying that matrix-matched external calibrations remain to be applied for their trace quantification.

COLOR CHARACTERISTICS OF BINARY COPPER-BASE ALLOYS

The effect of Al, Zn, Sn, Mn, Si and Ni on the color characteristics of binary copper-base alloys has been researched systematically and quantitatively. The results show that all alloying elements decrease the red content of an alloy at different levels but have different effects on the yellow color. Al and Zn enhance the yellow content of an alloy, whereas Sn, Mn, Si and Ni decrease the yellow content. When the alloys with different karat gold colors are imitated, Al and Zn are the most important color mixing elements and Sn, Mn, Si and Ni can be used as auxiliary.

Tarnish Testing of Copper-Based Alloys Coated with SiO_2-Like Films by PECVD

The tarnishing test in the presence of hydrogen sulfide（H2S） vapors has been used to investigate the tarnish resistance capability of copper-based alloys coated with Si02-like films by means of plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition（PECVD） fed with a tetraethoxysilane/oxygen mixture.The chemical and morphological properties of the films have been characterized by using infrared absorption spectroscopy（IR） and scanning electron microscopy（SEM）with energy disperse spectroscopy（EDS）.The corrosion products of the samples after the tarnishing test have been identified by X-ray diffraction analysis（XRD）.It has been found that SiO2-like films formed via PECVD with a high O2 flow rate could protect copper-based alloys from H2S vapor tarnishing.The alloys coated at the O2 flow rate of 20 sccm remain uncorroded after 54days of H2S vapor tarnish testing.The corrosion products for the alloys deposited at a low O2flow rate after 54 days of tarnish testing are mainly composed of brochantite.

Preparation of Yttrium－Barium－Copper Trinary Master Alloys by Electrolysis from Molten Fluoride－oxide

The electrochemical behaviour of Y￣(3+) and Ba￣(2+) on platinum and copper electrode in molten YF_3(70 wt% )-NaF (20 wt%)-CaF_2(10 wt%) has been studied by means of cyclic voltammetry. discharge curve and so on. The Y-Ba-Cu alloy is obtained by fused salt electrolysis with molten YF_3-NaF-CaF_2 as electrolyte and Y_2O_3 and BaO as raw materials. Graphite cell acted as an anode and copper rod as consumable cathode. The molten bath temperature was 1193 K. Cathode current density was 20 A/cm￣2. The contents of yttrium, barium and copper in alloy were about 20wt%, 9 wt% and 71 wt% respectively. Yttrium recovery efficiency was 90 wt%. The current efficiency was 70%～80 %.

Effect of rare earth elements in copper metal and copper alloys

Copper metal is a major non-ferrous material.It has better electrical and thermal conductivity(next to that of silver)and corrosion resistance than most of the metals.It is easy to be pressed into various electric and heat conductive products or semifinished parts,such as wires,rods,plates,belts and pipes in the devices.Rare earth elements have typical metallic properties and extremely active chemical properties.They can interact with almost all the elements except inert gas,and have the ability to absorb a large amount of gas.Its unique properties can improve the physical and mechanical properties of copper and copper alloys.