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EP1373588A1 - Micro-alloyed oxygen-free copper alloy and its use - Google Patents

Micro-alloyed oxygen-free copper alloy and its use

Info

Publication number
EP1373588A1
EP1373588A1 EP02703649A EP02703649A EP1373588A1 EP 1373588 A1 EP1373588 A1 EP 1373588A1 EP 02703649 A EP02703649 A EP 02703649A EP 02703649 A EP02703649 A EP 02703649A EP 1373588 A1 EP1373588 A1 EP 1373588A1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
copper alloy
oxygen
free copper
ppm
alloyed
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Withdrawn
Application number
EP02703649A
Other languages
German (de)
French (fr)
Inventor
Timo Salonen
Antti Kilpinen
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Outokumpu Oyj
Original Assignee
Outokumpu Oyj
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Outokumpu Oyj filed Critical Outokumpu Oyj
Publication of EP1373588A1 publication Critical patent/EP1373588A1/en
Withdrawn legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • CCHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C22METALLURGY; FERROUS OR NON-FERROUS ALLOYS; TREATMENT OF ALLOYS OR NON-FERROUS METALS
    • C22CALLOYS
    • C22C9/00Alloys based on copper
    • C22C9/05Alloys based on copper with manganese as the next major constituent
    • CCHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C22METALLURGY; FERROUS OR NON-FERROUS ALLOYS; TREATMENT OF ALLOYS OR NON-FERROUS METALS
    • C22CALLOYS
    • C22C9/00Alloys based on copper
    • C22C9/02Alloys based on copper with tin as the next major constituent
    • HELECTRICITY
    • H01ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01BCABLES; CONDUCTORS; INSULATORS; SELECTION OF MATERIALS FOR THEIR CONDUCTIVE, INSULATING OR DIELECTRIC PROPERTIES
    • H01B1/00Conductors or conductive bodies characterised by the conductive materials; Selection of materials as conductors
    • H01B1/02Conductors or conductive bodies characterised by the conductive materials; Selection of materials as conductors mainly consisting of metals or alloys
    • H01B1/026Alloys 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:

Landscapes

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

Abstract

An oxygen-free copper alloy comprising oxygen-free copper and, micro-alloyed therein, about 1 250 ppm tin (Sn) and/or about 1 150 ppm manganese (Mn). The invention also relates to the use of said copper alloy.

Description

Micro-alloyed oxygen-free copper alloy and its use
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. In many cases 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. In known arrangements where an excellent electroconductivity is needed, there is typically used so-called oxygen-free copper (for instance Cu-OF/ Cu-OFE). However, 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 invention is characterized by what is specified in the claims.
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. By means of 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 invention is described in more detail below with reference the appended drawing, where the results of an example illustrating the invention are represented in graphical form.
Example 1
Table 1. Copper alloys, their electroconductivity, weldability and post-welding workability.
Material samples, bent into tubular form and illustrated in table 1 , were welded. 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 welding experiments were successful. As regards the setting of welding values, with a quality that was micro-alloyed with tin it was easier to reach the correct setting values both for the shaping roller arrangement that bends the material strip to be welded, and for the welding values. The behavior of the melt of the Sn alloy could be controlled extremely well throughout a wide range of parameters. Also the Mn-alloyed material had better weldability than normal oxygen-free copper.
In the experiments that were carried out, it was found out that the weldability of oxygen-free copper micro-alloyed with tin (tin 25 ppm) was remarkably improved and was found excellent. Weldability was also improved by micro- alloying oxygen-free copper with small amounts of manganese (manganese 8 - 9 ppm). In the experiments, the weldability of oxygen-free copper micro-alloyed with manganese was estimated to be weaker than the weldability of oxygen- free copper micro-alloyed with tin. For a man skilled in the art, it is obvious that also other oxygen-free copper qualities (for instance Cu-OFE, Cu-OFXLP and C10910 (CDA code)) can be micro-alloyed in a similar way.
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. In the eddy current analysis, a measurement carried out throughout a stretch of 30 m was applied.
Table 2. Welding parameters and evaluation of the welds
In the table, 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) and OF means ordinary oxygen-free copper (Cu-OF).
In figure 1 , 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.
On the basis of figure 1 and table 2, it is found out that oxygen-free copper alloyed with tin (Cu-OF+Sn) was absolutely best in quality and made it possible to use the widest range of welding current. The welds obtained good grades throughout a wide range of current, i.e. 105 - 190 A. Likewise, oxygen-free copper alloyed with manganese (Cu-OF+Mn) also resulted in better-quality welds within a wider welding current range than ordinary oxygen-free copper (Cu-OF) used as reference material. On the basis of the deviation of results and the current range (current window) of the different materials, it can be maintained that the weldability of oxygen-free copper micro-alloyed with tin and/or manganese is clearly better. In particular, it was found out that among the tested materials, oxygen-free copper micro-alloyed with tin was best in terms of weldability.
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). 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:
As a conductor strip;
To the use of copper alloy as tubular wires in wire cables, such as a coaxial cables;
To the use of copper alloy in weldable conductor arrangements;
To the use of copper alloy in weldable and workable conductor arrangements;
To the use of copper alloy as tubular wire in underwater cables; and
To the use of copper alloy as corrugated tubes.

Claims

1. An oxygen-free copper alloy, characterized in that said alloy comprises oxygen-free copper and, micro-alloyed therein, about 1 - 250 ppm tin (Sn) and/or about 1 - 150 ppm manganese (Mn).
2. A copper alloy according to claim 1 , characterized in that said copper alloy comprises tin (Sn) 1 - 120 ppm, preferably 10 - 30 ppm.
3. A copper alloy according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that said copper alloy comprises manganese (Mn) 1 - 70 ppm, preferably 5 - 20 ppm.
4. A copper alloy according to any of the claims 1 - 3, characterized in that the electroconductivity of said alloy is over 100% IACS.
5. A copper alloy according to any of the claims 1 - 4, characterized in that the electroconductivity of said alloy is over 101% IACS.
6. The use of a copper alloy according to any of the claims 1 - 6 as conductor strip.
7. The use of a copper alloy according to any of the claims 1 - 6 as tubular wire in conductor cables, such as coaxial cables.
8. The use of a copper alloy according to any of the claims 1 - 6 in weldable conductor arrangements.
9. The use of a copper alloy according to any of the claims 1 - 6 in weldable and workable conductor arrangements.
10. The use of a copper alloy according to any of the claims 1 - 6 as tubular wire in underwater cables.
11. The use of a copper alloy according to any of the claims 1 - 6 in corrugated tubes.
EP02703649A 2001-03-09 2002-03-08 Micro-alloyed oxygen-free copper alloy and its use Withdrawn EP1373588A1 (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
FI20010473 2001-03-09
FI20010473A FI113061B (en) 2001-03-09 2001-03-09 copper alloy
PCT/FI2002/000184 WO2002072901A1 (en) 2001-03-09 2002-03-08 Micro-alloyed oxygen-free copper alloy and its use

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP1373588A1 true EP1373588A1 (en) 2004-01-02

Family

ID=8560689

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP02703649A Withdrawn EP1373588A1 (en) 2001-03-09 2002-03-08 Micro-alloyed oxygen-free copper alloy and its use

Country Status (11)

Country Link
US (1) US20040096353A1 (en)
EP (1) EP1373588A1 (en)
JP (1) JP2004538362A (en)
CN (1) CN1496416A (en)
BR (1) BR0207879A (en)
CZ (1) CZ20032372A3 (en)
FI (1) FI113061B (en)
HU (1) HUP0303470A3 (en)
PL (1) PL363969A1 (en)
SK (1) SK11512003A3 (en)
WO (1) WO2002072901A1 (en)

Families Citing this family (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE102008038270A1 (en) * 2007-08-21 2009-02-26 Prymetall Gmbh & Co. Kg Coaxial cable for transmitting high-frequency signals and method for producing such a cable
ITUA20163211A1 (en) * 2016-05-06 2017-11-06 De Angeli Prod S R L ELECTRIC CONDUCTOR FOR ELECTRIC WINDINGS, ESPECIALLY FOR CONTINUOUS TRAVEL CABLE
ES2886195T3 (en) 2017-05-10 2021-12-16 Haldor Topsoe As A procedure to reduce the oxygen content in metallic copper
CN111549254A (en) * 2020-04-29 2020-08-18 铜陵有色金属集团股份有限公司金威铜业分公司 Oxygen-free copper-based microalloy and preparation method and application thereof

Family Cites Families (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
FI40237B (en) * 1966-05-04 1968-07-31 Outokumpu Oy
US4059437A (en) * 1975-07-02 1977-11-22 Phelps Dodge Industries, Inc. Oxygen-free copper product and process
US4233067A (en) * 1978-01-19 1980-11-11 Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd. Soft copper alloy conductors
US4311522A (en) * 1980-04-09 1982-01-19 Amax Inc. Copper alloys with small amounts of manganese and selenium
JP2726939B2 (en) * 1989-03-06 1998-03-11 日鉱金属 株式会社 Highly conductive copper alloy with excellent workability and heat resistance

Non-Patent Citations (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Title
See references of WO02072901A1 *

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
CN1496416A (en) 2004-05-12
JP2004538362A (en) 2004-12-24
HUP0303470A3 (en) 2005-10-28
WO2002072901A1 (en) 2002-09-19
HUP0303470A2 (en) 2004-01-28
FI20010473A0 (en) 2001-03-09
BR0207879A (en) 2004-03-02
PL363969A1 (en) 2004-11-29
FI20010473L (en) 2002-09-10
CZ20032372A3 (en) 2003-12-17
US20040096353A1 (en) 2004-05-20
FI113061B (en) 2004-02-27
SK11512003A3 (en) 2004-04-06

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