Study on Characteristics of The Fe-Cu-0.5 wt.%Al Alloys Synthesized by Powder Metallurgy with Different Fe/Cu Ratio

Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Sumatera Utara, Jl. Almamater Kampus USU, Medan, 20155, Indonesia

^* Corresponding author: suprianto@usu.ac.id

Abstract

Fe-based alloys are widely used in the engineering field, particularly in mechanical engineering. Due to their good strength, these materials can be used in various components. The aim of this research to investigate the role of each elements on mechanical properties and microstructure of the Fe-Cu-Al alloy. The model alloys with different Fe/Cu ratios (60/40, 70/30, 80/20, and 90/10) were synthesized by powder metallurgy (PM). The powders were mixed together with 300 Rpm for 2 h using a horizontal milling and subsequently cold compacted at 250 MPa as well as sintered at temperature of 1000 °C. The compressive strength, hardness, wear tests, and microstructure observation were carried out. The results show that the Cu ratio in Fe-Cu-Al based alloy influences their hardness and compressive yield strength (σy), with the highest hardness of 86.80 HV and σy>200MPa, respectively. Furthermore, a better wear resistance was obtained for alloy of 90Fe10Cu. The microstructure consists of intermetallic phases and oxides dispersed within microstructure. However, individual Fe element were still observed in the 90Fe10Cu alloy. From this study, it can be concluded that the Fe/Cu ratios influence the properties and contribute to the development of alloys for engineering components.