Microstructure evolution in cast and equilibrium heat-treated CuZn30-(Si) alloys

The main object of this work was to investigate the effect of Si addition and heat treatment on the microstructure of CuZn30 alloy. The alloys were prepared by casting and then the chemical composition, microstructure and phases were determined by optical and scanning electron microscope and XRD analysis. The resulting microstructures contained two phases, alpha and beta', with volume fraction depending on silicon content. Increments of Si content led to the formation of a Widmanstatten structure. It was also found that the silicon dissolved completely in alpha + beta phases and the lattice parameters of both alpha- and beta'-phases increased as the Si content increased. Hardness tests showed that hardness of both the as-cast and heat-treated samples increased as the Si content increased, and a significant increment of hardness in heat-treated alloy was due to the formation of a martensite phase.