Effect of Al Content on Microstructure and Properties of Cu-14Ni-xAl Alloys

Abstract

This paper focuses on the influence of Al content on the microstructure and properties of Cu-14Ni-xAl alloys, with the mass fraction of aluminum element ranging from 0 to 5% as the object. First, the evolution of Vickers hardness and electrical conductivity of Cu-14Ni-xAl alloys during aging were tested. Then a comparative study of the friction and wear behavior of Cu-14Ni-xAl alloys with different Al contents were studied. The results show that the alloy with Al content of 3% possesses the best mechanical and friction performance, with the hardness of HV 275.0 and friction coefficient of 0.7 in the peak-aged state. Microstructure analysis show that the precipitates are denser and the volume fraction of aging induced precipitates are more in the Cu-14Ni-3Al alloy, compared with that in the other studied alloys. Finally, the correlations between the Al content, microstructure, the mechanical and tribological properties of the Cu-Ni-Al alloys were further discussed.