The effect of Mg/Ca/Nb/Ag alloying on the morphology and microstructure of powder metallurgy Cu10Fe alloy was investigated systemically in this work. Alloying of Ca reduces the size of Fe-rich particles, while alloying of Mg/Nb/Ag increases the Fe-rich particles. This is attributed to the different roles of various alloying elements on the liquid-phase separation behaviors as well as diffusion of Fe atoms during the solidification. Coarse size spherical Fe-rich particles with a face centered cubic structure are observed in CuFe alloys bearing Mg/Ag/Nb, whilst the alloying of Ca favors the formation of fine spherical Fe-rich particles with a body centered cubic structure. The factor governing the morphology is found to be interfacial energy for CuFe alloys containing Mg/Ag/Nb and elastic energy for Cu-Fe-Ca alloy, respectively. Coarse size Fe-rich particles are hard to deform during subsequent rolling, but the fine Fe-rich particles can co-deform with Cu matrix. This study could provide a detailed picture regarding the influence of various alloying element types on the size, morphology, and lattice structure of Fe phase of CuFe alloy.

Influence of minor Mg/Ca/Nb/Ag addition on the morphology and microstructure of Fe-rich phase in powder metallurgy Cu 10Fe alloy