Development of wear resistant Cu-12Sn-1.5Ni alloy via minor addition of Fe during casting process

The evolution of microstructure and mechanical properties in as-cast Cu-12Sn-1.5Ni-(0–1.5)Fe (wt. %) alloys was investigated in the previous work. Herein, the effect of minor Fe (0, 0.053, 0.63 wt%) addition on wear behavior of the alloy surface was explored. The coefficient of friction (COF) (0.61 to 0.51 at load of 10 N, 0.67 to 0.42 at 5 N) and wear rate (42.0 × 10−5 to 23.1 × 10−5 mm3/(N·m) at 10 N, 18.7 × 10−5 to 3.6 × 10−5 mm3/(N·m) at 5 N) decreased with addition of Fe. A transition in wear mechanisms was noticed with applied load. Abrasion wear was the dominant mechanism at 10 N together with slight oxidative wear, while adhesion and tribo-oxidation mechanisms controlled the wear at 5 N. The delamination and wear debris on worn surfaces lessened with increasing Fe both at 10 and 5 N, in line with the variation in COF and wear rate. The mechanisms underlying the improved wear behavior were evaluated in terms of microstructural optimization, densification and enhancement in mechanical properties. This work indicates the advantage of minor amount of Fe addition to achieve better wear resistance of nickel bronze alloys.