Effect of Nickel Addition on the Magnetic and Microstructural Properties of Cu-Al-Fe Alloy

The Ni addition on the magnetic properties of a Cu-10%Al-5%Fe (wt.%) alloy was studied. The alloy was produced by an arc melting method, and its magnetic properties such as coercivity and magnetization saturation were measured using a physical property measuring system (PPMS) instrument. In addition, structural properties of the alloys were characterized by the use of X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analyses. From SEM observations, two distinct phases were found to be in the microstructure consisting of (α + γ2) eutectoid and kappa (κI, κII, and κIII) phases. After the addition of the Ni element in the Cu-10%Al-5%Fe, we observed a decrement for the secondary κII phase. The magnetization curves, M-H, exhibited a clear ferromagnetic behavior. Present results indicate soft magnetic properties for the investigated alloy.