Preparation and Characterization of CuFe Alloy Ribbons

Cu-Fe master alloys with different contents of Fe were first fabricated by rapid solidification adopting high frequency induction melting. Based on the study on microstructure and the properties of Cu-Fe alloys, the quenched Cu-Fe alloy thin ribbons were prepared by a single roller melt spinning method, and the microstructures and the phase compositions of these ribbons were studied. The results show that the amount of Fe-rich dendrites increases and the dendrites are coarsened with the increase of Fe content in the range of 2 wt%∼10 wt%. The electric conductivity decreases and the hardness increases with the increase of Fe content in CuFe master alloys. The higher microhardness of Cu-rich matrix can be obtained when the content of Fe is 8.0 wt%. The grain sizes of Cu-Fe alloy ribbons are very fine. From the roll surface to the free surface, the grain size tends to be coarser along thin section due to the different solidification rates. The X-ray diffraction patterns of Cu-Fe melt-spun ribbons show that there are only Cu diffraction peaks, which become low, broad and offset to the lower degree with the increase of Fe content. The micrograph and the chemical compositions of Cu-6.0wt%Fe ribbons were characterized by SEM. The results indicate that Fe is dissolved in Cu, and the CuFe solid solution is formed.