THE INFLUENCE OF DEFORMATION TREATMENT ON THE STRUCTURE AND PROPERTIES OF COPPER–IRON POWDER MATERIALS

Abstract

Copper–iron alloys are used in the production as structural, electrical contact, elastic and materials intended for protection against electromagnetic waves. They have wide prospects for applications in electronics, semiconductor manufacture, automotive parts, and medical equipment. The use of conventional methods for producing Cu–Fe alloys by melting and processing Cu–Fe alloy ingots have some limitation due to the segregation of components when the ingots are solidified. The potential use of powder metallurgy methods to obtain materials in the copper–iron system is shown. Powder materials with uniform distribution of iron inclusions in a copper matrix are produced employing the rolling method. The influence of conditions used to form powder ribbons by rolling the Cu–Fe powder mixture on the distribution of alloy components in the rolled structure was studied. The conditions of sintering and heat treatment of compact copper–iron powder materials and their effect on the physical and mechanical properties of the rolled material with 15% Fe were analyzed. To reach the maximum possible conductivity of Cu–Fe material, the influence of cold working should be minimized and the formation of Cu–Fe solid solutions should be excluded. The influence of the composition (if the formation of solid solutions is excluded) will be practically determined only by the iron content. The effect of cold working is reduced by heat treatment of Cu–Fe ribbons after rolling, and the use of shear deformation in the rolling process and temperature modes of sintering and annealing in the temperature range lower than the melting points of components in the Cu–Fe system excludes the active formation of solid solutions and effectively imparts the required mechanical properties to sheet materials.