Microstructure evolution and thermal stability of Cu -15Cr in -situ composites

Abstract

The Cu-15Cr in-situ fiber-reinforced composites sheets were prepared by cold drawing combined with cold rolling process. The evolution process of Cr fibers was studied, and when cold rolling reduction e = 95%, the morphology of Cr fiber at different annealing temperature and the thermal stability of Cu-15Cr alloy were studied. Microstructure was also studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Meanwhile, the tensile strength of the alloy was tested by means of a precision universal tester, and the resistance value of the alloy was determined by using a digital micro-Euclidean instrument. The experimental results show that, with the increase of deformation, Cr dendrites evolve into homogeneous and parallelly arranged Cr fibers, and the cross-section of Cr fibers undergoes a "V" shape transition to "一" shape. In addition, spheroidization of the Cr fibers occurs on edges and extends to the center as annealing temperature rises. Moreover, the Cr fibers remains stable when the annealing temperature is below 550 °C. Furthermore, the tensile strength of Cu-15Cr alloy decreases gradually as the annealing temperature increases, while the electrical conductivity maximizes when annealing at 550 °C. Our study also shows that Cu-15Cr alloy has obtained a better comprehensive performance with tensile strength of 656 MPa and electrical conductivity of 82%IACS after annealing at 450 °C.