Influence of Low Temperature Annealing on Mechanical Behavior of Cu and Cu-Ge Alloy Processed by Cold Rolling

Abstract

The mechanical properties of ultra-fine grained pure copper and Cu-Ge alloy samples produced by cold rolling followed by annealing in the temperature range between 100 and 250 °C for 1h have been studied. It is found that the strength of pure Cu decreases dramatically, while Cu-0.1at.%Ge alloy reduces slightly and Cu-5.7at.%Ge alloy remains basically unchanged after annealing at 150 °C for 1h. However, the Cu-9.0at.%Ge alloy exhibits unusual anneal hardening. The ductility of pure Cu after annealing increases dramatically, while that of Cu-Ge alloys changes slightly. The effect of solute element content and low temperature annealing on the microstructure and mechanical behavior of alloys is investigated in this paper.