Effect of electrospark doping on mechanical properties of Al-Si-Cu alloys

Introduction. Microhardness and wear resistance of the aluminum alloy (AK5M7) after its surface treatment through electrospark doping (ESD) using A (Cu) and P (Cu+P) electrodes with different applied energy is considered. The work objective is to study the relationship of the physicomechanical and strength properties of the surface of AK5M7 alloy obtained after ESD with copper and copper-phosphorus electrodes.Materials and Methods. X-ray diffraction and X-ray fluorescence analysis methods were used to determine the phase composition, coherent-scattering regions (CSR), and the surface microstrain.Research Results. It is established that with increasing energy, the values of microhardness and wear resistance increase when using both electrodes. The sample was modified by P electrode with the energy of 0.79 J. In this case, the maximum value of microhardness increased 5.3 times, wear resistance -1.6 times. It is found that with ESD, new intermetallic phases of Al2Cu and Cu3P are formed on the surface of the alloy under study...