Strengthening Properties and Wear Resistance of the Cu-xNi-yCo-Cr-Si Alloy by Varying Ni/Co and Zr Addition

Abstract

This work examines the effect of nickel (Ni) and cobalt (Co) concentrations on wear resistance behavior of Cu-xNi-yCo-Cr-Si (x = 8−9 wt%, y = 1−2 wt%) and the zirconium (Zr) addition, in order to obtain an alloy with similar or better properties than the C17510 alloy. In this study, hardness and wear resistance mechanism behavior were associated with the microstructure evolution of these alloys with different aging strengthening conditions. Different heat treatments (HT) were applied to three alloys Cu-8Ni-2Co-1.6Cr-2Si wt% (L1), Cu-8.5Ni-1.5Co-1.6Cr-2Si wt% (L2) and Cu-9Ni-1Co-1.6Cr-2Si-0.18Fe-0.3Zr wt% (L3), the properties obtained were compared with C17510 alloy. Specimens were characterized by different metallographic techniques; the microstructural characterization was made with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and revealed regions of dendritic morphologies. The solidification sequence is primary Cu dendrites and some phases in the interdendritic regions. The solution heat treatment decreased (ST) the Hardness Rockwell B (HRB) and wear rate resistance, and there was an increase with the first aging heat treatment (HT1) for each alloy. The most outstanding combination of properties was found for Cu-8.5Ni-1.5Co-1.6Cr-2Si wt% alloy (L2C3) with 100 ± 1 HRB and specific wear rate resistance of 1.2 × 10−4 mm3/Nm, after the first aging heat treatment.