Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Casting and Fabrication of High-Damping Manganese-Copper Alloys
Casting and Fabrication of High-Damping Manganese-Copper Alloys
http://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39015078536078
Bureau of Mines
Report of Investigations 5127
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
Work on manuscript completed July 1954. The Bureau of Mines will welcome reprinting of this paper, provided
the following footnote acknowledgment is made: "Reprinted from Bureau of Mines Report of Investigations 5127."
April 1955
CASTING AND FABRICATION OF HIGH-DAMPING
MANGANESE-COPPER ALLOYS
by
CONTENTS
Page
Introduction and summary 1
Acknowledgment 3
Melting and casting manganese-copper alloys 3
Melting furnaces and refractories 3
The charge 3
Melt conditioning , 3
Casting temperature k
The ingot mold k
Mechanical working of manganese -copper alloys 11
Heat treating manganese -copper alloys 17
Conclusions 20
ILLUSTRATIONS
Fig.
1. Manganese -copper alloy ingot
showing folds and
cold shuts 5
2. Transverse section of manganese-copper alloy in
got showing hot tear 6
3. Reproduction of gammagraph of ingot showing sec
ondary piping 7
k.-6. Center line fractures of ingots showing variation
in secondary piping with change of mold
dimensions 8-10
7.-9. Center line fractures of small] ingots showing vari
ation in secondary piping with change of mold
dimensions 12-1^
10. Hot-short fracture of manganese-copper alloy
ingot 15
11. Maximum hot -working temperature for manganese -
copper alloy ingots 16
12. Effect of composition on the damping capacity of
solution- treated manganese-copper alloys 18
13. Effect of composition on the mechanical proper
ties of solution-treated manganese- copper
alloys 18
Ik, Effect of composition on the damping capacity of
aged manganese -copper alloys 19
I5. Effect of composition on the mechanical proper
ties of aged manganese -copper alloys 19
T7 Dean, R. S., Electrolytic Manganese and Its Alloys: Bureau of Mines Rept . of
Investigations 3580, 19^1, 58 pp.;
Dean, R. S., and Anderson, C. T., The Alloys of Manganese and Copper, Electrical
Resistance: Trans. ASM, vol. 29, 19^1, 788-801;
Dean, R. S., and Anerson, C. T., The Alloys of Manganese and Copper, Hardening by
Cold Work and Heat Treatment: Trans. ASM, vol. 29, 19^1, 802-807;
Dean, R. S., Anderson, C. T., and Jacobs, J. H., The Alloys of Manganese and
Copper, Microstructure of the Alloys: Trans. ASM, vol. 29, 19^1, 88I-898;
Dean, R. S., and Potter, E. V., The Alloys of Manganese and Copper, Vibration
Damping Capacity: Trans. ASM, vol. 29 19^+1, ^02-^llj-;
Dean, R. S., Potter, E. V., Long, J
R., and Huber, R. W., Properties of Transi
tional Structures in Manganese -Copper Alloys: Trans. ASM, vol. 3^, 19^5, ^65-
500;
Dean, R. S., Potter, E. V., Long, J. R., Graham, T. R., and Hayes, E. T., The
Manganese-Copper Equilibrium System: Trans. ASM, vol. 3^, 19^5, kk3-k6k;
Dean, R. S., Potter, E. V., Huber, R. W., and Lukens, C. H., The Damping Capacity
of Manganese-Copper Alloys: Trans. ASM, vol. hO, 19^8, 355-380;
Dean, R. S , Potter, E. V., and Huber, R. W., Electrical Resistivity and Tempera
ture Coefficient of Resistance of Copper-Manganese Alloys: Trans. ASM, vol.
k0, 19U8, 355-380;
Potter, E. V., Lukens, C. H., and Huber, R. W., Transformation of Gamma Manganese
to Alpha Manganese: Trans. AIME, vol. 185, July 19^9, 399 -4-04 .
2/ Schulze, Alfred, A New Resistance Alloy of the Copper-Manganese Group: Metall.
No. 17-18, 19^8, 291-295;
Siefert, A. V., and Worrell, F. T., The Role of Tetragonal Twins in the Internal
Friction of Copper -Manganese Alloys: Jour. Appl. Phys., vol. 22, No. 10,
October 1951, 1257-1259;
Basinski, Z. S., and Christian, J. W., The Cubic -Tetragonal Transformation in
Manganese -Copper Alloys: Jour. Inst. Metals, vol. 80, 1951-52, 659-666.
In addition to their exceptionally high vibration damping capacity the manganese-
copper alloys exhibit extreme values for many other properties. The thermal con
ductivity and emissivity are unusually low, whereas the thermal coefficient of ex
pansion and the solidification shrinkage are remarkably high. It should not be sur
prising, therefore, to find that usual casting procedures are not in any way suitable
for these alloys. However, in dealing with the manganese -copper alloys, the metal
lurgist has generally, and quite naturally, resorted to melting and casting practices
that are standard for other alloys . This tendency has been the chief pitfall in the
development of casting and fabrication methods for the high-damping manganese -copper
alloys. Because of their relatively narrow freezing range, 1/ shrinkage occurring
during solidification is concentrated in a central pipe of a volume commensurate with
the great solidification shrinkage typical of these alloys. If this shrinkage
occurred only as primary pipe in the upper portion of the ingot, corrective measures
would be simple and obvious; but the shrinkage problem is complicated by inherent
thermal characteristics of the alloys, which contribute strongly to the formation of
a region of secondary pipe. This secondary pipe is apparent only on radiographic ex
amination or on sectioning the ingot. Thus, this very serious ingot defect is gen
erally overlooked by metallurgist inexperienced with these particular alloys until
it is revealed by failure of the ingot during hot-working. The low thermal con
ductivity of solid manganese-copper alloys and the high viscosity and surface tension
of the liquid near its solidification point are the principal factors involved in
formation of this area of secondary pipe. Although these inherent characteristics
cannot be altered, their effects can be counteracted by using an ingot mold of suit
able design. Mold design, therefore, is a problem of primary importance in develop
ing a casting practice for the alloys. The problem has received considerable atten
tion, and a satisfactory solution is described in detail in this report.
Temperatures over 1,^50° C. (2,640° F.) are required to melt the manganese-
copper alloys for casting. Usually either the arc furnace or Induction furnace is
used to obtain such temperatures. Although many types of impurities can be tolerated
in relatively large amounts in the manganese -copper alloys, carbon has a substantial
effect on both mechanical properties and damping capacity. Therefore, the induction
furnace is to be preferred over the arc furnace for the melting. However, carbon
pickup can be held to a minimum and the alloy can be melted very satisfactorily in
the indirect-arc furnace if
a heavy protective flux cover consisting of 50 percent
borax, 25 percent sodium carbonate, and 25 percent calcium carbonate is maintained
over the charge during the entire melting operation. No flux is required when the
alloys are melted in an induction furnace.
Alundum crucibles or furnace linings give the most consistent service with
manganese-copper alloys, but sillimanite or magnesia can be used for this purpose.
Chrome oxide has excellent resistance to erosion by the molten alloys, and refrac
tories of this material should be used wherever washing is encountered. The chrome
ore refractories are particularly useful in making pouring cups or basins .
The Charge
When charges are made up entirely of virgin metals, it is good practice to melt
the copper first and then add the manganese, which is necessarily in the form of
cathode chips, gradually to the molten pool, shoving it well under the surface of
the copper to avoid excessive oxidation.
Manganese -copper scrap amounting to ^0or even 50 percent of the total charge
can be used when available without a serious buildup in impurities, provided the
scrap is free from excessive contamination. The scrap, of course, can be melted
with the copper to form a pool of metal for the addition of manganese chips.
Melt Conditioning
Casting Temperature
(7O0 F.). The optimum casting temperature for a 75- to 80-percent manganese alloy
is 1,1+25° C. (2,600° F.). At casting temperatures below 1,415° C. (2,580° F.) cold
shuts or folds are encountered. An example of this condition is shown in figure 1.
These defects generally render the ingot useless for hot working. Above 1,455° C.
(2,650° F.) the Ingots frequently develop serious hot tears, which remain unwelded
and cause failure during forging. One of these hot tears is shown in figure 2, a
photograph of a transverse section from an ingot cast at 1,470° C. (2,680° F.).
This hot tear originated approximately 1 Inch below the riser and extended as a
long, narrow crack on a plane through the center of the ingot to a depth of 5 01* 6
inches. These hot tears have never been encountered in ingots cast at temperatures
belov 1,440° c, (2,625° *"•)•
.05
causing fracture across the disk between notches. As shown in the photographs, one-
half of disk is stacked in an order to represent the height of the ingot and
each
thus present a vertical centerline face revealing shrinkage distribution. The hot
top sections of the ingots are not shown in these photographs .
Depending on the mold design, secondary piping in manganese -copper ingots can
be reduced in volume until shrinkage occurs only as intermittent areas of porosity
or, with optimum mold proportions, until this shrinkage is completely eliminated and
central porosity is replaced by solid metal. These changes are evident in figures K
through 6. The ingots shown in these photographs were cast in big-end-up molds
having a taper of approximately 2.2 degrees from the vertical. The top diameter was
held constant at 5 inches for each of the ingots, but the height was decreased from
1^ to 12 and to 8 inches for the ingots shown in figures k, 5 , and 6, respectively.
In these photographs, the centralized shrinkage is apparent as dark irregular patches
The abrupt decrease in this area with decreasing height is plainly evident in these
three photographs . The severe secondary pipe occurring in the ingots of figures k
and 5 by an accumulation of nonmetallics on the surface. This
has been emphasized
accumulation completely precludes welding during forging or rolling, and the rough
surface, typical of a shrinkage cavity, promotes extensive rupture when ingots con
taining such cavities are forged. Centerline fractures of a second group of three
ingots are shown in figures 7j 8, and 9. These ingots are smaller in all dimensions
but show a similar reduction in pipe volume as the height of the ingot is reduced.
It is apparent, therefore, that the shrinkage volume is not controlled directly by
mold size. Additional tests on other groups of ingots of a wide
variety of sizes indicate that the factor directly affecting the pipe volume is the
ratio of mold diameter to mold height. As this ratio increase the shrinkage volume
decreases until, at a ratio of approximately 0.6 or higher, porosity in the ingot
proper is reduced to an insignificant quantity.
similar series of tests run on ingots with a taper of 1.1 degrees revealed
A
approximately the same relation between pipe volume and the ratio of mold diameter
to mold height. In this case also, a ratio of approximately 0.6 or better for mold
diameter to mold height was required to insure a sound ingot.
^ 1
p
M
I to
--40
0* =3=
-*#
Ji
-M X
o
M
01
<£>
tc
=40 CO
* —
01 =r
<i =
-CO QC
-25"=
-M
111
3 I ) 10
t
!
o
c
0
Q.
CL
o
u
6
V)
o
c
a
en
c
a
E
o
J-
D
u
D
O
_c
V)
en
LL
1.100
2,012
1.832 oo
900
u: IP52 o
o
ft) 0)
800
"5
|
1472
i
oo
0)
o.
Q.
E
£
«)
r-
.292 70
60
o 60 70 80
Manganese, percent
After a reduction of k-0 percent or more by hot working, the alloys are quite
ductile but extremely tough. Eeductions of 60 percent or more by cold swaging or
cold rolling are possible. Cold-working, however, reduces damping capacity rapidly
and substantially. This capacity can, of course, be restored by a suitable heat
treatment .
30
25
.20
15
E 10
60 65 70 75 80
Manganese, percent
70
Tensile Strength
60
ct
o
o 50
■
Modulus of
Elasticity
-
— 15 *
CL
— 10
o.
c 40
<u
— - 5
45
Elongation
S 40
u
a> m
Q- 35 60 _r
Hardness w
55 1
o
50 *
1 1 1 1
60 65 70 75 80
Manganese, percent
Damp ng Capacity
30
25
20
o 15
60 65 70 75 80
Manganese, percent
115 —
Tensile Strength
105
§O, 95
Modulus
Elasticity
of
- 85 10
I
x:
Yield Strength (0.2% offset)
75
a>
£ 65
55
25 95 %
Elongation Hardness o
</)
20 90 ^
c I 5
a>
cj
I "0 80 o
60 65 70 75 80
Manganese, percent
CONCLUSIONS