Development and characterization of bronze-Cr-Ni composites produced by powder metallurgy

Abstract In this study, the bronze-Cr-Ni composites were prepared by means of the powder metallurgical method. The influence of the composition and compact pressure on microstructure, density, hardness and electrical conductivity was examined. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX) were used to analyze the microstructure of the contact materials. The results showed that density of the bronze-Cr-Ni composites decreased with increasing Ni content. Increasing compact pressure led to lower porosity and consequently improved the density of bronze-Cr-Ni composites. The relative green density increased from 78% to 95% with the increase in the compact pressure from 200 MPa to 800 MPa. The hardness values showed a decrease from 95.1 BHN to 71.6 BHN by the addition of Ni from 1 wt% to 5 wt% at 800 MPa. It was found that addition of Ni at 1 wt% was required to achieve increased hardness and sufficient conductivity for bronze-Cr-Ni composites. The electrical conductivities of contact materials containing 3 wt% Ni and 5 wt% Ni was lower than that of 1 wt% Ni.