Effect of rolling and aging processes on microstructure and properties of Cu-Cr-Zr alloy

The effects of rolling deformation, rolling temperature and aging treatment on microstructure and mechanical properties of Cu-Cr-Zr alloy were investigated and the relevant influencing mechanism was also discussed in this study. The results showed that the tensile strength of the Cu-Cr-Zr alloy increased with an increase of rolling deformation at room temperature. The elongation to failure of the alloy decreased until the rolling reduction is up to 80% and then increased with the reduction, which is related to the grain orientation change from Copper texture with poor plasticity to the Goss/Brass texture with good plasticity. A large amount of Cr precipitates were identified during rolling at 300 °C in Cu-Cr-Zr alloy, which resulted in much higher electrical conductivity and tensile strength exceeded that of the room-temperature rolling with the rolling reduction over 80%. Aging treatment of 450 °C for 1 h led to the formation of massive Cr and Cu₄Zr precipitates, which can significantly improve the tensile strength from 591.1 MPa to 669.1 MPa and electrical conductivity from 30.3%IACS to 74.5%IACS of the room-temperature rolled alloy. These results provide a guideline for exploring efficient preparation methods of high-performance Cu-Cr-Zr alloys.