Effects of trace Mn and B on microstructure and memory properties of additive manufacturing Cu-Al-Fe alloy

Abstract

In this paper, the Cu-13Al-4Fe alloy was selected as the object, and the powder core wire with the “skin coated powder” damage-resistant structure was selected as the material for additive manufacturing. Three kinds of alloys: Cu-13Al-4Fe, Cu-13Al-4Fe-0.6Mn, and Cu-13Al-4Fe-0.2B were prepared by wire arc additive manufacturing technology. An optical microscope observed the as-deposited and quenched microstructures of the alloys before and after adding trace fourth phase elements. Their shape recovery rates under different pre-strain amounts (4%, 6%, and 8%) were tested by the bending deformation method, and the results were obtained. The mechanism of action of the fourth phase elements is discussed. The results show that the addition of trace amounts of Mn and B not only refines the microstructure of additively manufactured Cu-Al-Fe alloys but also improves the memory properties of Cu-13Al-4Fe alloys. Especially the Cu-13Al-4Fe alloys with trace amounts of B added. the shape recovery rate is 100% under the pre-strain of 4% and 6%, and the shape recovery rate is still 98.39% under the pre-strain of 8%.