Special Copper-Based Alloys and Composites and Methods of Their Production

• Main Author: R. F. Likhatskyi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: PH «Akademperiodyka» 2020-03-01
• Series: Процессы литья
• Subjects: copper-based composite materials; monotectic alloys; structure of the frozen emulsion; advanced casting technologies
• Online Access: https://plit-periodical.com.ua/en/arhiv/special-copper-based-alloys-and-composites-and-methods-their-production

The article considers the main production problems and the use of copper alloys and composites in the context of modern requirements for their properties, taking into account the extreme operating conditions. A large number of these materials have been used in electrical engineering and as bearing parts for many decades, but the current level of technological development requires effective solutions to improve a number of operational properties of copper and alloys based on it. One of the most effective modern methods for solving such problems is the creation of functional cooper-based composite materials and the development of effective technologies for their preparation. Increasing operating temperatures and maintaining the necessary mechanical properties are the main requirements for copper and its alloys at the moment. It was shown that the solid-soluble and dispersion hardening mechanisms of hardening of these materials, to a greater extent, have exhausted themselves. This is mainly due to the tendency of hardening components and phases to dissolve in the matrix at high operating temperatures. Therefore, the main trend now is the use of insoluble dispersion particles, such as metal carbides, max phases, etc. for hardening copper and its alloys. In most cases, these problems were solved by powder metallurgy methods. This made it possible to obtain a uniform or local controlled distribution of particles in the parts. Despite this, such methods are quite expensive and cannot provide the production of large-sized products. Foundry technologies for producing copper composites have their advantages over powder ones, which is manifested both in greater technological and economic efficiency, and in matters of metal quality. In addition, only foundry technologies are capable of producing copper composites with endogenously formed insoluble compounds, or alloys of monotectic systems with the structure of a frozen emulsion.