Classifications

• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C22—METALLURGY; FERROUS OR NON-FERROUS ALLOYS; TREATMENT OF ALLOYS OR NON-FERROUS METALS
  • C22C—ALLOYS
  • C22C9/00—Alloys based on copper
  • C22C9/05—Alloys based on copper with manganese as the next major constituent
• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C22—METALLURGY; FERROUS OR NON-FERROUS ALLOYS; TREATMENT OF ALLOYS OR NON-FERROUS METALS
  • C22C—ALLOYS
  • C22C9/00—Alloys based on copper
  • C22C9/02—Alloys based on copper with tin as the next major constituent
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
  • H01B—CABLES; CONDUCTORS; INSULATORS; SELECTION OF MATERIALS FOR THEIR CONDUCTIVE, INSULATING OR DIELECTRIC PROPERTIES
  • H01B1/00—Conductors or conductive bodies characterised by the conductive materials; Selection of materials as conductors
  • H01B1/02—Conductors or conductive bodies characterised by the conductive materials; Selection of materials as conductors mainly consisting of metals or alloys
  • H01B1/026—Alloys based on copper

Definitions

• the present invention relates to a copper alloy according to the preamble of claim 1.
• the invention also relates to the use of said copper alloy, particularly in weldable applications.
• Good weldability is an important property in copper, particularly in connection with the manufacturing of tubes and conducting wires for tubular cables.
• the material often used in the conducting wires of tubes and tubular cables, such as coaxial cables and the like, is thin copper strip, which in the manufacturing process is bent to be tubular, and the free edges of the strip are typically welded together.
• the obtained tube is further processed by drawing or by corrugating after welding.
• Said cables are used for instance in connection with cables designed for various telecommunication purposes or for example in underwater cables.
• oxygen-free copper for instance Cu-OF/ Cu-OFE.
• the need has arisen to further develop the good welding and working qualities of oxygen-free copper.
• the object of the present invention is to realize a copper alloy with an excellent electroconductivity and with an excellent weldability and post-welding workability.
• the alloy according to the invention has several remarkable advantages.
• When adding small amounts of alloy agents, particularly tin and/or manganese, into the oxygen-free copper extremely good results have been achieved as regards weldability and workability.
• By micro-alloying small amounts of tin and/or manganese into oxygen-free copper the properties of the molten material melted in connection with the joining process have been improved, particularly as regards viscosity and surface tension. Both of said properties have a significant effect in the weldability of the copper alloy.
• the alloy according to the invention there is achieved both a welding process that is easier to control, and a joint that is mechanically stronger.
• the achieved alloy is very well suited to be used in connection with products - for example tubes, profile tubes, corrugated tubes and tubular cable wires - that are manufactured of copper strips by welding, and in connection with the working of said products, for example drawing, bending, corrugating, profiling etc.
• the employed materials were oxygen-free copper micro-alloyed with tin (Cu- OF+Sn) and oxygen-free copper micro-alloyed with manganese (Cu-OF+Mn), and the employed reference materials were oxygen-free copper (Cu-OF, applicant's quality type OF-OK).
• the micro-alloyed samples were the following: Cu-OF+Sn alloying: 25 ppm Sn Cu-OF+Mn alloying: 8-9 ppm Mn
• the references used in the experiments were oxygen-free copper (Cu-OF).
• the thickness of the strip to be welded was 0.26 mm.
• the welding experiments were performed by bending the material strip into tubular form and by welding the strip edges together with TIG welding.
• the employed equipment was a typical equipment used for welding tubes, where the material strip is first conducted, via bending rollers, into a welding position, where the opposite edges of the strip that is bent into tubular form are welded together. After the welding step, the welded tube is wound or conducted to a coil.
• the employed welding method was TIG welding, which is typically used In the welding of copper tubes.
• the employed protective gas was Argon.
• the welding rate was 20 m/min.
• the welding current fluctuated within the range of 100 - 250 A, and the welding voltage was roughly 9 - 12 V.
• the welded tubes were subjected to an eddy current control.
• the evaluation was carried out by observing the results given by an eddy current meter.
• the evaluations are collected in table 2 and in figure 1.
• Part of the welded tubes were subjected to eddy current measurements.
• the evaluation was carried out by observing the results given by the eddy current meter.
• the obtained grade was affected by the height of the background noise caused by the weld, and possible peaks in the signal reduced the grade.
• a measurement carried out throughout a stretch of 30 m was applied.
• the alloy symbol SN means oxygen-free copper alloyed with tin (Cu-OF+Sn)
• the alloy symbol MN means oxygen-free copper alloyed with manganese (Cu-OF+Mn)
• OF means ordinary oxygen-free copper (Cu-OF).
• the oxygen-free copper alloyed with tin (Cu-OF+Sn) is marked with a square.
• the oxygen-free copper alloyed with manganese (Cu-OF+Mn) is marked with a circle.
• the oxygen-free copper (Cu-OF) used as reference material is marked with a triangle.
• the copper alloy according to the invention comprises oxygen-free copper (for example Cu-OF/ Cu-OFE) and, micro-alloyed therein, about 1 - 250 ppm, typically 1 - 120 ppm, preferably 10 - 30 ppm, tin (Sn) and/or about 1 - 150 ppm, typically 1 - 70 ppm, preferably 5 - 20 ppm, manganese (Mn).
• oxygen-free copper for example Cu-OF/ Cu-OFE
• Mn manganese
• the electroconductivity of the copper alloy is over 100% IACS, typically over 101% IACS, preferably over 101.5% IACS.
• the invention also relates to the use of copper alloy:

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• Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Materials Engineering (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Metallurgy (AREA)
• Organic Chemistry (AREA)
• Arc Welding In General (AREA)
• Conductive Materials (AREA)
• Connections Effected By Soldering, Adhesion, Or Permanent Deformation (AREA)
• Superconductors And Manufacturing Methods Therefor (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Publications (1)

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• 2001
  • 2001-03-09 FI FI20010473A patent/FI113061B/fi not_active IP Right Cessation
• 2002
  • 2002-03-08 US US10/471,191 patent/US20040096353A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2002-03-08 EP EP02703649A patent/EP1373588A1/en not_active Withdrawn
  • 2002-03-08 CZ CZ20032372A patent/CZ20032372A3/cs unknown
  • 2002-03-08 WO PCT/FI2002/000184 patent/WO2002072901A1/en not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 2002-03-08 JP JP2002571950A patent/JP2004538362A/ja not_active Abandoned
  • 2002-03-08 CN CNA028062434A patent/CN1496416A/zh active Pending
  • 2002-03-08 PL PL02363969A patent/PL363969A1/xx not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 2002-03-08 HU HU0303470A patent/HUP0303470A3/hu unknown
  • 2002-03-08 BR BR0207879-1A patent/BR0207879A/pt not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 2002-03-08 SK SK1151-2003A patent/SK11512003A3/sk unknown

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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