Structure formation, friction and wear of composite materials based on aluminum-manganese bronze and nickel-based superalloys

The paper investigates the structure formation, friction and wear of composites based on aluminum-manganese bronze CuAl9Mn2 and Udimet 500 nickel base superalloy obtained by wire-feed electron-beam additive manufacturing (EBAM). It is shown that wire-feed EBAM-produced specimens have rather a homogeneous structure based on the copper solid solution, NiAl and Cu₉Al₄ intermetallic phases, M₂₃C₆ carbides and structured particles comprising a mixture of carbides and intermetallides with the shell structure. The higher content of the Udimet500 superalloy added to the copper matrix leads to an increase in strength properties and a decrease in ductility. The lowest friction wear is observed for specimens containing 10–15 vol.% of the nickel alloy, while the lowest friction coefficient is observed for specimens containing 5 vol.% of the nickel alloy. The main mechanisms of the friction wear are adhesive and normal corrosive wear. In addition, the phenomenon of coarse particle precipitation of strengthening phases was observed at dry friction of composites consisting of the high content of the nickel alloy. It is found that at dry friction, the low depth of subsurface deformation is typical for all composite materials.