Study of the formation process of chromium carbides from melt components of the Cu-Cr-C system

The possibility of forming particles of chromium carbides from the components of the melt of the Cu-Cr-C system for a temperature range of 1100-1500 ° C was studied in this work. The relevance of this research is determined by the necessity of developing new hardened and high-conductivity copper alloys. A thermodynamic modeling of phase equilibria in the copper-rich corner of the Cu-Cr-C system under the conditions of a liquid copper-based melts available in a temperature range of 1100 to 1500 °С was done within the framework of this research. FactSage v.7.0 SW package was used for the thermodynamic simulation of phase equilibria. Experimental work to review the results of interactions processes of a copper-chromium alloy and graphite was also conducted. The shape and composition of produced non-metal inclusions were determined, while studying the experimental samples using a scanning-electron microscope and electron microprobe analysis. It is found that non-metal inclusions in the experimental samples that were obtained under exposure of the liquid metal in contact with graphite are represented by chromium carbides particles of the size 15 µm at most. Results of this research may be used to analyze technological processes in copper and copper-based alloy production and to develop compositions for metal matrix composite production.