Copper Precipitation Behavior during Continuous Cooling and Subsequent Aging of Powder-Forged Fe-2.5Cu-C Alloy

Microstructure and property evolution of a powder-forged Fe-2.5Cu-C alloy during continuous cooling and subsequent aging were investigated to improve its mechanical properties. During continuous cooling, copper precipitates formed were consistent with the interphase mechanism when the cooling rate was less than 7 degrees C/s; however, the hardness of the specimen was always higher at faster cooling rates because finer grains and harder phases formed. During subsequent aging, copper precipitates formed and/or coarsened continuously while the hardness of the alloys was greatly influenced by the combined effects of the primary and secondary precipitates, as revealed by the theoretical calculations. In addition, the forming and evolving mechanisms of the copper precipitates at different stages were also discussed based on the experimental results. This study will provide guidance to the industry for achieving high performance in the powder-forged products by treatment manipulation.