X-ray diffraction analysis of cold rolled strip from jewelry 585 gold alloy

Abstract

Here is investigated an golden alloy 585 as one of widely used gold alloy in jewelry production. Insufficient data, even in nowadays, exist about the production schedule of gold alloys, including melting, rolling and heat treatment regimes. The structures of complex alloys, such as used golden alloy, are less known and/or investigated. Principally, the constitutional diagram of Au-Ag-Cu system is known, as a (meta)stable equilibrium diagram. But, after relatively fast cooling from liquid state during casting will be obtained polycrystalline grains, different from equilibrium conditions. Such polycrystalline material frequently undergoes to rolling for obtaining a desired shape of (semi)product. Those processes, casting and rolling, will show the influence on the final structure to be obtained, also on properties of such treated alloy. The structural changes and obtained phases in metal working processes of 585 gold alloy still are not well examined, so here is provided an XRD examination after heavy reduction at cold rolling of a strip. The castings were in the flat form in dimension of 4,5x50x50mm, than cold rolled to 1,5mm, intermediate annealed and finally cold rolled to thickness of 0,5mm with height reduction of 66,7%.