Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of a Copper Alloy Sheet Processed by a Differential Speed Rolling

Abstract

The microstructure and mechanical properties of a copper alloy sheet processed by differential speed rolling (DSR) were investigated in detail. A copper alloy with thickness of 3 mm was rolled to a 50% reduction at ambient temperature without lubrication and with a differential speed ratio of 2.0:1. For comparison, conventional rolling (CR), in which the rolling speeds of the upper and lower rolls is 2.0 m/min, was also performed under the same rolling conditions. The shear strain of the sample processed by CR showed positive values at the positions of the upper roll side and negative values at the positions of the lower roll side. On the other hand, the sample processed by the DSR showed zero or positive shear strain values at all positions. However, the microstructure and mechanical properties of the as-rolled copper alloys did not show such significant differences between the CR and the DSR. The samples rolled by the CR and the DSR exhibited a typical deformation structure. In addition, the DSR processed samples showed a typical rolling texture in which {112}<111>, {011}<211> and {123}<634> components were developed at all positions. Therefore, it is concluded that the DSR was very effective for the introduction of a uniform microstructure throughout the thickness of the copper alloy.