On the properties of cast and powder metallurgical Cu-6Ni-1.5Si-0.15Al (wt.%) alloy

In this study, Cu-6Ni-1.5Si-xAl (x = 0 and 0.15 wt%) alloys are manufactured as billet materials by casting and their metallurgical and physical properties are characterized. Aluminum modified alloy is obtained also by a powder metallurgical (PM) route and its structural properties are determined to be compared with the cast materials. The findings indicate that (i) solidified alloys have distributed nickel silicides (27.01 %) embedded in alpha-Cu(Ni,Si) solid solution, (ii) the addition of aluminum increases the amount of silicides (29.09 %) in the solidified matrix and reduces both the grain size and the secondary dendrite arm spacing, (iii) although PM alloy has similar microstructural features as cast alloys, it exhibits the highest hardness (159 HV1) due to both finer grain structure and better distribution of silicides, (iv) both impurity and porosity have a determining effect on the electrical conductivity (27-32 % IACS, International Annealed Copper Standard) values of the alloys.