Copper alloy copes with demanding applications
A
Brush Wellman product story
Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team
Jan 20, 2003
ToughMet alloy exhibits a strength three times greater than that of copper - or about the same as steel - yet also possesses tribological properties comparable with those of leaded bronzes.
Equipment for mining, tunnelling and the construction industry is subjected to some of the harshest operating conditions imaginable.
These environments generate highly abrasive dust that can ruin bearings and can also subject machinery to acidic water whilst salt mines are highly corrosive.
Traditional bearing materials for such environments include aluminium bronzes and lubricated steel bushings.
However, unless lubrication is maintained at the correct level, aluminium bronzes can suffer from galling and steel bushings can both gall and seize due to a build up of corrosion products.
An alternative is ToughMet from Brush Wellman, a spinodal alloy of copper with 15% nickel and 8% tin.
Because of the alloying elements, the Equacast casting process, and the spinodal heat treatment, ToughMet exhibits a strength three times greater than that of the parent copper - or about the same as steel - yet also possesses tribological properties comparable with those of leaded bronzes.
The inherent lubricity means that ToughMet bushings are unlikely to fail even if starved of lubricant.
ToughMet can be used to replace problematic bushings that have previously been made from aluminium bronze or steel, such as kingpin bushes in large dump trucks for open cast mining, and bushings in continuous mining machines for mining coal or salt.
In such applications it is possible to extend the maintenance interval, leading to direct savings for the plant operator.
OEMs can make savings through simplified lubrication systems and by not having to machine complex lubricant channels on the insides of bushings.
Moreover, because ToughMet's strength is so much higher than that of other bronzes, smaller bearing arrangements can be designed, so less material is required for each bush.
Further savings are also possible if near-net-shape cast tube is supplied, resulting in reduced machining time and lower wastage of material through conversion into swarf.
ToughMet is suitable for both low-speed/high-load and high-speed/low-load applications, with either continuous rotary or reciprocating motion.
Indeed, wherever in-service problems arise due to galling, overheating, contamination, premature wear, irregular maintenance or bearing corrosion, ToughMet can provide a solution.
(This was Engineeringtalk's Top Story on 17 January 2003).
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