Wear 261 (2006) 155–163

Mechanical and tribological properties of a novel aluminum

bronze material for drawing dies
W.S. Li ∗ , Z.P. Wang, Y. Lu, Y.H. Jin, L.H. Yuan, F. Wang
State Key Lab of Advanced Non-Ferrous Materials, Lanzhou University of Technology,
Lanzhou, Gansu 730050, PR China
Received 16 March 2005; received in revised form 7 September 2005; accepted 22 September 2005
Available online 28 October 2005

Abstract
A new aluminum bronze material with aluminum content over the solubility limit and several trace elements, Cu–14Al–X alloy (X is trace
elements), has been developed for drawing dies. The mechanical properties such as hardness, tensile strength and impact toughness were evaluated
experimentally. The friction and wear behavior of the material was investigated under boundary lubrication conditions. The experimental results
demonstrated that the developed alloy possessed higher tensile strength and hardness, lower friction coefficient and wear rate, compared to
currently used aluminum bronzes, therefore it is expected to replace conventional iron-based materials that are commonly used for drawing dies.
With the excellent anti-friction property and high carrying capacity, the new material, Cu–14Al–X alloy, will be able to provide precision drawing
dies.
© 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Aluminum bronze; Microstructure; Heat treatment; Boundary lubrication; Friction; Wear

1. Introduction comprehensive properties and is among the most widely used

Materials that are used domestically in China for precision
drawing dies are cast–iron alloys such as Cr12, W18Cr4V,
35CrMo steels and some other hardened alloys. However, a
bonding phenomenon often occurs during the squeezing and
stretching process, which causes vestiges and defects on the
product surface, resulting in a coarse appearance and poor qual-
ity finish. The product with vestiges and defects is considered as
a waste; therefore excessive number of wastes will cause a large
amount of market value loss. Although much research has been
done to solve this problem, there are still no effective materials
available in use.
In this research, a new material, designated as Cu–14Al–X
alloy, was developed for precision drawing dies. It is well known
that aluminum bronze has excellent physical, mechanical and
tribological properties, and is a material commonly used for
some mechanical parts with wear- and abrasion-resistance [1,2].
Bronze alloyed with about 10% Al (in weight) exhibits the best
∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +86 931 2806304; fax: +86 931 2806962.
E-mail address: Wensheng-li@sohu.com (W.S. Li).
materials in the aluminum bronze family. Conventional bronze-
10% Al alloys are ZQAl10-3-1.5 and ZQAl10-4-4 and their
tribological behaviors have been studied extensively since the
1970s [3–7]. With increasing aluminum content up to the solu-
bility limit (9.4 wt.%), the friction coefficient decreases but the
wear loss increases when wearing against steel [8,9]. In addition,
above the solubility limit of aluminum in α, the wear behavior is
more complicated since duplex or complex aluminum bronzes
containing β phase at high temperatures can be heat-treated to
produce different structures. However, the wear behavior of alu-
minum bronze with Al content over the solubility limit has not
been studied extensively.
Previous research [10–13] has also shown that the dissolution
ability of nonferrous metals such as Al, Cu, Mg, Zn in Fe is very
low and the tendency of adherence is low. On the other hand, the
dissolution ability of ferrous metals such as Cr, Ni in Fe is very
high and the tendency of adherence is high. This demonstrates
that the materials with a hard and wear-resistant nonferrous
metal matrix are more suitable for draw processing of stainless
steel utensils. Based on the previous research, a high-strength
wear-resistant complex aluminum bronze die material, desig-
nated as Cu–14Al–X, with aluminum content over solubility,

0043-1648/$ – see front matter © 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.wear.2005.09.032
156 W.S. Li et al. / Wear 261 (2006) 155–163
was developed by adding several trace elements such as Zn,
Co, RE (rare earth), etc. The specimens were fabricated with a
casting technique. Mechanical and tribological properties of the
material were evaluated and compared with ZQAl10-3-1.5 and
ZQAl10-4-4.
2. Experimental details
2.1. Specimen preparation
The chemical composition of the new material is
given in Table 1. The specimen was prepared by a
jointly charging one-melted technique. The raw materials
were pure copper (purity ≥ 99.95 wt.%), aluminum (purity ≥
99.9 wt.%), electrolytic nickel (purity ≥ 99.95 wt.%), man-
ganese (purity ≥ 99.95 wt.%), zinc (purity ≥ 99.95 wt.%), cobalt
(purity ≥ 99.95 wt.%), and cerium (purity ≥ 99.95 wt.%). In
addition, de-oiled ferrous nails and/or threads with good pol-
ished surface were used to provide ferrous ingredients for the
alloy.
In the preparation process, raw materials, Cu and Al, which
have low and high melting points, respectively, were charged into
the furnace successively. The trace additives such as Co, Ni, Fe,
and Mn fragments were then inserted uniformly into the gaps
between copper and aluminum pieces. Furthermore, ∼5 wt.% Al
of the whole aluminum content in the alloy composition listed in
Table 1, was left as pre-deoxygenating and temperature-tuning
reagents. After all the raw materials were charged into the fur-
nace, the furnace was pre-heated for 5–8 min using a low heating
rate in order to exclude the oil and gas, then a high heating rate
was used to make all raw materials melt as quickly as possi-
ble. After all the raw materials were completely melted, a layer
of charcoal with a thickness of 20–30 mm was used to cover
the molten surface. During the processing, a blowing device
was used to perform dynamical degas, the inert gases used for
dynamical degas was nitrogen or argon. After the dynamical
degas, a process of pre-deoxygenating was carried out using the
residual ∼5 wt.% Al. In the meanwhile, the melting temperature
was adjusted to 1200–1260 ◦ C. A chemical refining degas was
then performed using the C2 Cl6 and/or C2 Cl4 refining reagents
with an amount of 0.1–0.15% of all the molten materials (in
weight). Following that, an eventual deoxygenating process was
taken using rare earth (RE). Before the pouring process, a gas
check was done to ensure it met the required criterion (Chinese
standard GB/T 1176–1987, the solidified molten metal surface
in the testing mould is a concave). Finally, the melted materi-
Table 1
Chemical composition of Cu–14Al–X alloy
Ingredients wt.%
Cu 75–80
Al 13–16
Fe 2–4.5
Mn 1.0–1.5
Ni 0.4–0.6
Others 1.0–2.6
als were poured into sand moulds at the temperature of 1180–
1240 ◦ C.
The developed alloy in as-cast state (CA) also experienced
different heat treatments. The specimens were all solution
treated at 920 ◦ C for 2 h and then oil quenched (QU). Following
that, three different heat treatments were conducted on the spec-
imens, respectively. The first (HT1) was aged at 450 ◦ C for 3 h.
The second (HT2) was aged at 580 ◦ C for 3 h. The third (HT3)
was aged at 640 ◦ C for 3 h.
2.2. SEM, EDS, EPMA, and XRD analyses
The microstructures of the specimens were examined suing
a scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with energy dispersive
spectroscopy (EDS). The topographical features and micro-
constituents of the worn surfaces and debris of the specimens
in the following wear test were also analyzed using the SEM,
EDS, and electronic probe microanalysis (EPMA). An X-ray
diffraction (XRD) technique was used for phase identification.
The specimens for optical microscope and scanning electron
microscope (SEM) were etched using a solution consisting of
1 g FeCl3 , 20 ml HCl, and 100 ml distilled water. A solution with
25 g (NH4 )2 S2 O8 and 100 ml distilled water was used to etch the
surfaces for identifying the κ phases with a white appearance.
2.3. Mechanical and tribological tests
Mechanical properties such as Rockwell hardness, tensile
strength and impact toughness were tested on the HD1-187.5
sclerometer, 40 t multi-functional hydraulic servo machine and
CIEM-30D-CPC testing machine, respectively. The diame-
ter of the tensile specimens was 10 mm according to ASTM
E 8M. The size of the impact toughness specimens was
10 mm × 10 mm × 55 mm in terms of ASTM E 23. Six spec-
imens were test in each experiment and an average of the exper-
imental data was taken as the result.
A column-on-block RFT-III friction-meter, as the schematic
representation shown in Fig. 1, was employed to measure the
friction coefficient of the alloy under a boundary lubricated fric-
tion condition. The lubricant was the commonly used No. 20
engine oil. Column specimens had a diameter of 8 mm. ZQAl10-
Fig. 1. A schematic representation of the column-on-block wear test apparatus:
(1) column sample; (2) block sample; (3) pressure direction; (4) sliding direction.
 W.S. Li et al. / Wear 261 (2006) 155–163
3-1.5 and ZQAl10-4-4 alloys were also tested for comparison.
The block was made of 1Cr18Ni9Ti steel with hardness of HB
204. Friction surfaces of specimens are finished using sand paper
work up to No. 1200. And the wear loss of the specimen was
evaluated after the surface was worn for 60 min, the sliding
velocity was 0.2 m/s, which corresponded to a sliding distance
of about 720 m. The wear loss was calculated by measuring the
weight loss of the specimen using a balance with an error within
0.1 mg.
3. Experimental results
3.1. Microstructures
From the viewpoint of material theory, the equilibrium
microstructure of Cu–14Al–X alloy is made up of the β phase
and the eutectoid (α + γ 2 ) phase [2]. In practice, the alloy is com-
posed of the α, β , γ 2 , and κ phases since the practical cooling
speed is higher than that under equilibrium condition.
The microstructures of the as-cast Cu–14Al–X and ZQAl10-
3-1.5 are presented in Fig. 2. Comparing the as-cast microstruc-
tures (Fig. 2(a) and (b)), the two alloys have some common
characteristics, for example, they all have the α phase, the so-
called ‘retained β’or β phase, γ 2 phase and the intermetallic κ
phases. The four different phases are observed in the Cu–14Al–X
alloy microstructure, as shown in Fig. 2(a), the light areas are
the α phase, the dark regions are the so-called ‘retained β’
or β phase, the gray phases at the grain boundaries are γ 2
and the fine dots dispersed in the alloys are the intermetal-
lic κ phases. Similar to Cu–14Al–X alloy, but ZQAl10-3-1.5
alloy has less γ 2 phase at the grain boundaries, as shown in
Fig. 2(b). The main differences between these alloys are the
relative content of phase, the size of phase, the shape and dis-
tribution of the phases in microstructures. The characteristics of
Fig. 2. Microstructures of the tested alloys: (a) Cu–14Al–X (CA); (b) ZQAl10-3-1.5 (CA).
Table 2
Equilibrium phases in aluminum bronze alloy
Phases Description
α Copper-rich solid solution
γ2 Intermetallic compound Cu9 Al4 with a wide solubility range
β Intermetallic compound Cu3 Al with a wide solubility range
κ Intermetallic compound
157
the equilibrium phases in aluminum bronze alloy are listed in
Table 2.
Regarding the heat-treated specimens, it can be seen that the
microstructure of Cu–14Al–X alloy has been changed after the
heat treatment. The as-cast matrix of β + α + γ 2 + κ (Fig. 3(a))
has turned to be β by the QU treatment, as shown in Fig. 3(b). The
β phase is a supersaturated intermetallic solid solution, which
is an unstable structure. This means that an ageing process can
occur in which the excess solute atoms precipitate out of the
supersaturated matrix to form a controllable non-equilibrium
structure if the alloy is heated within the two-phase temperature
region. Thus, in the Cu–14Al–X (HT2) alloy, the matrix phases
are still β + α + γ 2 + κ, but there are more α phase present,
the grain boundaries are neater (fewer precipitates at the grain
boundaries), and all phases disperse more homogeneously than
in the CA specimen (Fig. 2(a) and Fig. 3(a)). Also, the contin-
uous network of gray eutectic γ 2 phase at the grain boundary
(Fig. 2(a) and Fig. 3(a)) has changed to a discrete and spherical
structure after the HT2 treatment (Fig. 3(c)). Solute atoms such
as Al, Fe, Ni cluster and separate out from the matrix to form the
dispersive strengthening phase, that is, κ phase (Fig. 3(d)). When
the specimen is etched using a solution with 25 g (NH4 )2 S2 O8
and 100 ml distilled water, the white petal-like areas are κ phase.
The XRD results of the heat-treated specimens are presented
in Fig. 4. It can be seen that the matrix phase of the alloy contains
more dispersive κ phase after the tempering treatment compared
to the as-cast and quenched specimens. There are more γ 2 phase
and less α phase present in the HT1 specimen, more β and κ
phase in the HT2 specimen, and more α in the HT3 specimen,
than in the CA specimen. And it can be concluded that there is a
trend, more α phase and less γ 2 phase present in the alloy with the
aging temperature increased from HT1 (450 ◦ C), HT2 (580 ◦ C),
to HT3 (640 ◦ C). The relative content of phase in matrix of the
specimens has been changed by the heat treatments.
Crystal structure Lattice spacing (Å) Micro-hardness (HV)
fcc A1 3.608 200–270
Complex cubic DO3 8.699 360–570
CsCl B2 2.89 290–407
Cubic DO3 – >700
158 W.S. Li et al. / Wear 261 (2006) 155–163

Fig. 3. Microstructures and κ phase of the heat-treated alloys: (a) Cu–14Al–X (CA); (b) Cu–14Al–X (QU); (c) Cu–14Al–X (HT2); (d) κ phase in Cu–14Al–X (HT2).

3.2. Mechanical properties

Mechanical properties of Cu–14Al–X alloy in as-cast state

and different heat treatment states are presented in Table 3. It
can be seen that different strength and elongation combinations
can be obtained through the heat treatments. For the QU alloy,
hardness is the lowest but elongation and impact toughness are
the highest. For the HT2 alloy, hardness and tensile strength
are 27.3 and 21.7%, respectively, higher than those of the CA
alloy. They have similar impact toughness, but the elongation
of the HT2 alloy is only 62.9% of that of the CA alloy. For
the HT1 alloy, hardness is 48.5% higher than that of the CA
alloy, but elongation, tensile strength and impact toughness are
only 31.4, 46.2 and 44.7%, respectively, of those of the CA
alloy. Regarding the HT3 alloy, hardness, tensile strength and
compression strength are all decreased compared to the HT2
alloy. Therefore, it can be concluded that the HT2 alloy has the
best overall mechanical properties.

3.3. Tribological properties

The curves in Fig. 5 show the relationship between the wear

Fig. 4. XRD spectra of Cu–14Al–X specimens: (a) CA; (b) QU; (c) HT1; (d)
HT2; (e) HT3.
load and the wear rate, and those in Fig. 6 show the rela-
tionship between the wear load and the friction coefficient, of
CA/Cu–14Al–X, ZQAl10-3-1.5 and ZQAl10-4-4 alloys. It can
be seen that the wear rate of all the alloys increase with the load.
The difference in the wear rate under the low load condition
is negligible. With the increase of the load, the wear resistance
of the as-cast Cu–14Al–X alloy is higher than the other two.
As for the friction coefficient, Cu–14Al–X alloy has the lowest
friction coefficient whether the load is high or low. Therefore,
 W.S. Li et al. / Wear 261 (2006) 155–163 159

Table 3
Mechanical properties of tested alloys
Sample Mechanical properties

Tensile (MPa) Hardness (HRC) Elongation (%) Compression strength (MPa) Impact toughness (J/cm2 )

Cu–14Al–X (CA) 637 26.4 3.5 1015 5.88

Cu–14Al–X (QU) 598 21.8 4.3 745 10.54
Cu–14Al–X (HT1) 295 39.2 1.1 590 2.63
Cu–14Al–X (HT2) 657 33.6 2.2 980 5.08
Cu–14Al–X (HT3) 605 25.9 3.3 875 9.05
ZQAl10-3-1.5 (CA) 490 176 HB 15.0 – –
ZQAl10-4-4 (CA) 539 186 HB 5.0 – –

the friction coefficient of CA/Cu–14Al–X alloy varies less with
load than the ZQAl10-3-1.5 and ZQAl10-4-4 alloys and has the
best anti-friction property among the three alloys.
Fig. 7 shows the wear rate and friction coefficient of
Cu–14Al–X alloy treated in different conditions. These data
were obtained under a wear load of 784 N and the pressure
(the ratio of the load to the cross-sectional area of the speci-
men) of 15.6 MPa, which would be the application scenario of
the alloy. Although the friction coefficient of Cu–14Al–X alloy
varies slightly with the heat treatment, there is an obvious differ-
ence in the wear resistance. The wear resistance of the CA alloy
and the HT3 alloy are obviously lower than that of the HT1 alloy.
The HT2 alloy has a low friction coefficient and wear rate, which
demonstrates that the second heat treatment condition (HT2) is
the best for Cu–14Al–X alloy.
The curves in Fig. 8 present the relationship between the wear
rate and the wear load and the relationship between the fric-
tion coefficient and the wear load of the HT2 alloy. Comparing
Figs. 6 and 7, it can be concluded that the HT2 alloy has lower
friction coefficient and wear loss than the as-cast Cu–14Al–X,
ZQAl10-3-1.5 and ZQAl10-4-4 alloys under the same load. It
is clear that the HT2 alloy possesses the highest anti-friction
property and carrying capacity among all the tested alloys.

Fig. 5. Relationship between the wear rate and the wear load of the tested alloys. Fig. 7. Wear rate and friction coefficient against wear load of Cu–14Al–X alloy
treated in different conditions.

Fig. 6. Relationship between the friction coefficient and the wear load of the
tested alloys. Fig. 8. Wear rate and friction coefficient against wear load of the HT2 alloy.
160 W.S. Li et al. / Wear 261 (2006) 155–163
4. Discussion of the results
4.1. Relationships between microstructure and mechanical
properties
Mechanical and tribological properties of a material are
related closely to its microstructure. The high aluminum con-
tent in Cu–14Al–X alloy causes its as-cast matrix to contain
more β and γ 2 phases, but less α phase than ZQAl10-3-1.5,
which increases the alloy’s strength and hardness, but decreases
the elongation and impact toughness. In addition, the continuous
network structure of eutectic γ 2 phase at the grain boundaries
causes a low elongation of Cu–14Al–X alloy.
The heat treatments changed the microstructure of
Cu–14Al–X alloy and thereby resulted in the change of the
mechanical properties and tribological behaviors. As discussed
above, the grain boundaries are neater and all phases disperse
more homogeneously in the HT2 specimen than that in the CA
specimen, distribution of the eutectic gray γ 2 phase has changed
from a continuous network structure at the grain boundaries to a
discrete and spherical structure. Solute atoms such as Al, Fe, Ni
cluster and separate out from the matrix to form the dispersive
strengthening κ phase and thus more α phase forms. In this case,
dissever of the continuous knitted structure to the metal matrix
is greatly reduced. All these above would provide strengthening
and hardening of the aluminum bronze compare to its as-cast
state [13,14].
From the XRD results (Fig. 4), the matrix phase of the alloy
contains more dispersive κ phase after the tempering treatment
compared to the as-cast and quenched specimens, more γ 2 phase
is present in the HT1 alloy; therefore the alloy possesses high
hardness and brittleness. However, more β phase is found in the
HT2 specimen and more α in the HT3 specimen, which make
these alloys high in strength and elongation.
4.2. Relationships between microstructure and tribological
properties
Fig. 9 shows the worn surfaces of the as-cast Cu–14Al–X,
ZQAl10-3-1.5 and ZQAl10-4-4 alloys under a low load of
294 N. The worn surfaces of ZQAl10-3-1.5 and ZQAl10-4-4
show the characteristics of adhesive and abrasive wear. Abrasion
Fig. 9. Worn surfaces of the tested alloys under a wear load of 294 N: (a) Cu–14Al–X; (b) ZQAl10-3-1.5; (c) ZQAl10-4-4.
usually exists in the contact surfaces under wear. The abrasive
grains may stem from the detachment of κ and β phases, work-
hardened particles formed by shearing and rolling of the α phase,
impurity particles from lubrication oil and dirt from surround-
ings. Under the friction force, these particles would cause plows
and wedges. The more and the larger the abrasive grains, the
more serious the abrasive wear, and the higher wear rate of the
alloy [11,13].
The main phases in CA/Cu–14Al–X alloy are β and γ 2 ,
which are harder than α phase, as known in Table 2, thus resis-
tance to deformation of β matrix prevented the surface from
severe abrasive wear, leading to the decrease in the possibility
of forming of the hard particles from the matrix. As shown in
Fig. 9(a), the worn surface of the Cu–14Al–X specimen exhibits
light abrasive wear, that is, less and shallow abrasive tracks are
observed. However, the main phases in as-cast ZQAl10-3-1.5
and ZQAl10-4-4 are α and β , a soft α matrix with lower plastic
deformation resistance, therefore severe wearing scars, notches
and plow grooves are observed in the worn surfaces (Fig. 9(b)
and (c)). The friction coefficients of ZQAl10-3-1.5 and ZQAl10-
4-4 are larger than that of Cu–14Al–X alloy, as shown in Fig. 6.
This is a result of the detachment of hard phases or the agglom-
eration of wear debris trapped between the wearing which were
penetrating or plowing into the sliding surfaces during the wear.
Therefore, the Cu–14Al–X alloy has a lower wear loss than
ZQAl10-3-1.5 and ZQAl10-4-4 as shown in Fig. 5.
Strengthening and hardening of the matrix is an important
means of enhancing the wear resistance of an aluminum–bronze
alloy. Since the Al content in Cu–14Al–X alloy is over the
solubility limit of Al in the α phase, the wear mechanism is
more complicated. This is because duplex or complex aluminum
bronzes containing β phase may produce different structures
when heat-treated at high temperature. Fig. 10 shows the worn
surfaces of Cu–14Al–X alloy heat-treated in different conditions
under a high wear load of 784 N. In these figures, it can be seen
that the five specimens have different wear characteristics under
such a high load. Since the as-cast Cu–14Al–X microstructure is
not very homogenous, the alloy cannot prevent the surface from
severe abrasive wear under a high load. As seen in Fig. 10(a)
there are obvious wear scars and deep plough grooves in the
alloy surface. The dominant wear mechanisms of the CA alloy
are mild adhesive, abrasive wear. The adhesive wear can be
 W.S. Li et al. / Wear 261 (2006) 155–163
Fig. 10. Worn surfaces of the Cu–14Al–X alloy under a wear load of 784 N: (a) CA; (b) QU; (c) HT1; (d) HT2; (e) HT3.
confirmed by the X-ray spectroscopy of the counterpart’s sur-
face. Compared to the CA alloy, the QU alloy has a homogenous
microstructure and the β phase has higher strength and hardness,
in this case no hard particles were torn out from the matrix during
the wear, leading to less damage of the surface (Fig. 10(b)).
For the HT1 alloy, the matrix is continuous network of
eutectic γ 2 phase which makes the alloy hard and brittle, with
high resistance to deformation. As seen in the worn surface
(Fig. 10(c)), adhesive wear is less significant, but grooves (point
A in Fig. 11(a), from which the material had been removed)
and plate-like debris (point B in Fig. 11(a)) which had been
re-adhered to the friction surface can be found. The results of
EPMA show that the big debris are γ 2 phase with a micro-
composition of 26.11% Al, 2.50% Fe, 1.06% Mn, 0.14% Co,
69.07% Cu, etc. And micro-fracture can also be seen in tran-
sect of the friction surface as shown in Fig. 11(b) (A point). It
is noted that the micro-fracture and abrasion cause the alloy a
severe wear and high wear loss.
Regarding the HT2 alloy, owing to the solution strengthen-
ing, dispersion strengthening and grain refining of the γ 2 phase
which has increased the strength, and relative high content of
α phase than HT1 alloy in the matrix which has increased the
micro-fracture resistance of the alloy, the worn surface shows a
very slight abrasive wear. As seen in Fig. 10(d), the wear scars
and plough grooves in the HT2 worn surface are shallow. Fur-
thermore, examining the debris in worn surface using SEM, as
shown in Fig. 11(c), the torn-out chips from the HT2 surface are
very small. The debris are block-like particles, see Fig. 11(d).
The EPMA results show that micro-constituent of the block-like
debris is 7.04% Al, 1.33% Fe, 0.19% Mn, 0.17% Co, 90.39%
Cu, etc., this demonstrates that the shear and fracture occur in
the β and α phases. As seen in Fig. 11(c), there is large plastic
161
deformation in the worn surface; However, micro-fracture might
less occur in the HT2 surface compare to the HT1 alloy because
the α phase is a more plastic phase with lower hardness than the
γ 2 phase. On the other hand, X-ray spectroscopy has shown that
the torn-out chips, at point A in Fig. 11(c), is κ phase with the
chemical composition of approximately 15.4% Al, 41.4% Fe,
1.46% Mn, 11.4% Co, 29.7% Cu, etc. The hard κ phase parti-
cles increased the ability of the alloy to resist the adhesion to its
mating surface, which reduced deformation and damage of the
alloy surface.
For the HT3 alloy, due to the lack of the dispersive strength-
ening of κ phase and increase in soft α and β phases, the alloy
has low tensile strength and hardness, the wear resistance of the
alloy is very low. As shown in Fig. 10(e), abrasive wear has
occurred because deep wearing scars and plough grooves are
found in the HT3 alloy surface.
4.3. Relationships between mechanical and tribological
properties
From the wear results, the wear rate and friction coefficient
of Cu–14Al–X vary less with the load than ZQAl10-3-1.5 and
ZQAl10-4-4 alloys, as seen in Figs. 5 and 6. The HT2 alloy
has lower wear loss than the CA, QU and HT3 alloys, as seen
in Fig. 7. The mechanical properties play a decisive part on the
tribological properties of the alloy. According to adhesive theory
for the sliding friction given by Archard [15]:
Wv = CP/H (1)
where Wv is the wear volume of the material removed per unit
sliding distance and unit load, C, the constant of wear, P, the nor-
mal load, and H is the hardness. Similar expression for friction
162 W.S. Li et al. / Wear 261 (2006) 155–163
Fig. 11. Worn surfaces with debris of Cu–14Al–X alloy: (a) HT1; (b) friction transect of HT1; (c) HT2; (d) debris from HT2.
coefficient due to adhesive force is [16]:
µ = s/H
where µ is the friction coefficient and s is the shear strength.
As discussed above, due to the homogeneous second phase
dispersing in the α + β + γ 2 matrix, Cu–14 Al–X alloy has high
strength and hardness. From Eqs. (1) and (2), it is clear that the
higher the hardness and the strength of a material, the stronger
the anti-seizure ability and the better the wear resistance.
Although the HT2 alloy is excellent for the wear resistance,
the plasticity of the alloy is poor. This means that the Cu–14Al–X
alloy is not suitable for the case of wear accompanied with heavy
impact and/or shock. This alloy is good for static precision draw-
ing dies attributed to its anti-friction property to steel.
5. Conclusions
A new aluminum complex bronze alloy for drawing dies has
been developed with adding trace elements and aluminum con-
tent over the solubility limit. The specimen was fabricated using
a jointly charging one-melted technique.
The mechanical properties of the developed alloy can be
improved remarkably after a solution treatment at 920 ◦ C for
(2) 2 h followed by aging at 580 ◦ C for 3 h. The distribution of the
eutectic γ 2 phase has been changed from a continuous network
structure at grain boundaries to a discrete and spherical structure
by the heat treatment. The dispersion of κ phases and decrease
of the grain size of the γ 2 phase resulted in the hardening and
strengthening of the alloy.
The developed alloy exhibits a lower wear rate and friction
coefficient, and better anti-friction property than the currently
used aluminum bronze ZQAl10-3-1.5 and ZQAl10-4-4, espe-
cially when solution treated at 920 ◦ C with oil quenching fol-
lowed by aging at 580 ◦ C.
The relative content of phases, strengthening and hardening
of the matrix is an important means of enhancing the wear resis-
tance of an aluminum–bronze alloy. Homogeneous distribution
of γ 2 phase and dispersion of κ phase in the alloy microstruc-
ture increase deformation resistance of the α + β + γ 2 matrix
and thus improve the wear resistance of the alloy.
It was suggested that the Cu–14Al–X alloy could be used
as materials for static precision drawing dies attributed to its
anti-friction properties/tendency and wear resistance.
 W.S. Li et al. / Wear 261 (2006) 155–163
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by Gansu Province Technology
Bureau under No. GS992-A52-052. The authors wish to thank
Dr. Rong Liu at Carleton University, Canada, for discussing the
manuscript.
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