Design of Cu-based powder alloys used for low speed and heavy bearing with inverse design methodology

Based on the demand oriented, the inverse design methodology was used to design the material used for low speed and heavy duty bearing in this paper. Firstly, the finite element analysis was performed to confirm the service condition of the low speed heavy duty sliding bearing, getting the properties of the material requirements under the service conditions. Then, the diagram of material properties was drawn by the Ashby approach, and the Cu12Al6Ni5Fe Cu-based alloys were selected as the bearing materials after comparison and screening. Finally, the Cu12Al6Ni5Fe alloy was prepared by powder metallurgy method, the alloy strength reached 340 MPa and the hardness was HB 138, which reached the expected target. According to the analysis of the alloy microstructure, the further improvement ideas were propose.