Accelerated discovery of high-performance Cu-Ni-Co-Si alloys through machine learning

• Published in: Materials & design Vol. 209; p. 109929
• Main Authors: Pan, Shaobin, Wang, Yongjie, Yu, Jinxin, Yang, Mujin, Zhang, Yanqing, Wei, Haiting, Chen, Yuechao, Wu, Junwei, Han, Jiajia, Wang, Cuiping, Liu, Xingjun
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 01.11.2021; Elsevier
• Subjects: Alloy design; Cu-based alloys; Microstructure; Phase transition; Precipitation hardening; Cu-based alloys; Microstructure; Precipitation hardening; Alloy design; Phase transition
• ISSN: 0264-1275; 1873-4197
• DOI: 10.1016/j.matdes.2021.109929

[Display omitted] •The design method based on machine learning accelerated the exploitation of low-Co and high-performance Cu-Ni-Co-Si alloys.•A novel strategy that could simultaneously predict properties and optimize compositions and process parameters of alloys was established.•Trace Co increased the phase dissolution temperature and reduced the coarsening rate, thereby retarding the aging process.•A Cu-2.3Ni-0.7Co-0.7Si alloy with a large regulatory range of alloy performance was successfully developed to meet different requirements. Cu-Ni-Co-Si alloys have been regarded as a candidate for the next-generation integrated circuits. Nevertheless, using the trial and error method to design high-performance copper alloys requires a lot of effort and time. Thus, the material design method based on machine learning is used to accelerate the exploitation of alloys. In this study, a composition-process-property database of Cu-Ni-Co-Si alloys was established, and a new strategy that could simultaneously realize the prediction of properties and the optimization of compositions and process parameters was proposed. Four groups were chosen from 38,880 candidates by the multi-performance screening method; goodagreements existed between the prediction and the test. The Cu-2.3Ni-0.7Co-0.7Si alloy had the best performance among the designed alloys, and this alloy was studied in depth. The influence of the dissolution of Co in Ni2Si was analyzed from a novel perspective. Interestingly, the trace amount of Co replacing Ni to form (Ni, Co)2Si increased the phase dissolution temperature dramatically and shortened the coarsening rate. Affected by Co, the over-aging process was slowed down, which broadened the use range of alloys greatly. Therefore, the developed Cu-2.3Ni-0.7Co-0.7Si alloy can prove to be promising materials that meet different working conditions, and its performance was better than C70350 alloy.