Effect of Electromagnetic Field on Microstructure and Properties of Cu-Cr-Co-Si Alloy

The Cu-Cr-Co-Si alloy is a newly designed copper alloy with high mechanical properties and a proper electrical conductivity. The intermediate frequency electromagnetic field was applied during the solidification process. The results showed that the grain size remarkably refined with the application of electromagnetic field, the structure of the as-cast Cu-1Cr-1Co-0.2Si alloy transformed from coarse grain to homogeneous equiaxed grain due to the electromagnetic force. The microhardness and tensile strength of the alloy with the electromagnetic field intensity of 10 mT increased by 27.4% and 14.9% respectively compared with as-cast condition after solid solution and aging treatment. While, the electrical conductivity of the ingots with electromagnetic field is 53.1% IACS, which is slightly lower than that of the as-cast condition.