An Attempt to Fabricate a Copper-Steel Bimetallic Composite Cylinder Block by Changing the Cooling Rate in a Continuous Furnace
摘要
This study investigates the effects of cooling rate on the solidification microstructure and interfacial properties of the copper layer. Results demonstrate that cooling rate is a critical parameter controlling the interfacial metallurgical behavior and solidification structure. By designing different thermal-conductivity caps to regulate the solidification behavior of the CuSn10Pb10 layer in copper/steel plunger pump cylinders, the mechanism by which cooling rate influences microstructural homogeneity and interfacial quality was revealed. Under a water glass cap (low cooling rate: 0.18°C/s), it exhibited dispersed shrinkage porosity and coarse dendrites with Pb phase size of 9.75 ± 9.96 μm, low Sn-rich phase fraction of 2.4%, and a thick diffusion layer of 3.59 μm. Stainless steel capping at a medium cooling rate of 0.46°C/s balanced solute diffusion and heat transfer. This process refined the Pb phases to a size of 10.68 ± 11 μm, increased the proportion of Sn-rich phases by 3.7%, and ultimately achieved defect-free bonding with an interfacial shear strength of 130 MPa. The uncapped condition (high cooling rate: 0.60°C/s) promoted equiaxed grains (Pb size: 4.81 ± 5.51 μm, Sn-rich phase: 5.7%) but induced clustered porosity due to asymmetric heat transfer. Elemental diffusion distance decreased significantly with higher cooling rate (Cu diffusion layer reduced from 3.59 μm to 1.73 μm). A two-stage cooling process suppressed Pb migration and Sn segregation by regulating mushy zone width and undercooling.