Instability of Plastic Deformation in Low-Alloy Copper Alloys

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to determine the influence of temperature of plastic deformation on the structure and mechanical properties of copper alloys of the types CuCo1NiBe (CCNB), CuCo2Be (CB4), CuNi2SiCr (CNCS), CuNi1P (CNP) and CuCr1Zr (CW106C) applied on electrodesduring a tensile test. Tensile tests were carried out on polycrystalline samples of above mentioned alloys, which confirmed the presence of inhomogeneous plastic deformation in specified temperature ranges for each alloy. The tensile test of the investigated copper alloys were realized in the temperature range of 20÷800 °C with strain rate of 1.2•10-3s–1 on the universal testing machine. Metallographic observations of the structure were carried out on a light microscope and the fractographic investigation of fracture on an electron scanning microscope. Performed experimental studies have proven that analyzed structural factors, in a range of investigated strain conditions at elevated temperature, significantly influence the phenomenon of the Portevin Le Chatelier (PLC) type instability of plastic strain, revealed in low-alloy copper alloys. Moreover, it was found that the impact of examined factors on the PLC effect should be considered comprehensively, taking into account their synergic interactions.