Investigation of the sintering process and high-throughput sample preparation of Cu-Cr-Zr alloy

Abstract

In this work, the influences of sintering temperature, duration, and pressure on the properties of Cu-0.6Cr-0.1Zr alloy were investigated by the spark plasma sintering through L9(33) orthogonal experiment design. The optimum parameters were determined at 850 °C with 50 MPa for 20 min. Subsequently, a high-throughput sample of Cu-xCr-0.1Zr (x = 0–0.9 wt%) was prepared under the aforementioned experimental conditions to explore the impact of Cr content on the microstructure and properties of Cu alloys. It was found that Cr addition enhanced mechanical properties while reducing the electrical conductivity in the alloy. By striking a balance between mechanical properties and electrical conductivity, an optimum Cr addition level of 0.6 wt% was identified for Cu-xCr-0.1Zr alloy.