Precipitation Behavior and Properties Evolution of Cu-1.16Ni-0.36Cr Alloy During Heat Treatment

In this paper, Cu-1.16Ni-0.36Cr alloy was obtained by adding Ni-Cr intermediate alloy, and the effects of aging parameters on its microstructural evolution and mechanical properties were studied. The results show that after secondary aging (solid solution + one time cold rolling at 87.5% + annealing at 300 °C for 2 h + secondary aging at 450 °C for 2 h), dispersed BCC structure Cr precipitates are obtained in the alloy, which shows good comprehensive properties (strength of 512.0 MPa, elongation of 17.2%, and electrical conductivity of 45.5%). The change in aging parameters significantly affects the existing form of Cr precipitates. When the aging temperature increases from 400 °C to 450 °C, the precipitated phase begins to have a stable boundary, which shows that the precipitated phase with BCC structure Cr precipitates (~10 nm in range). When the aging temperature further increases to 500 °C, the size of Cr precipitated phase begins to grow, from 5.0 nm to 16.7 nm. The strengthening mechanism of the alloy with different aging time at 450 °C is calculated, and the relationship among aging parameters, microstructure characteristics, strengthening mechanism and mechanical properties is established. It is concluded that precipitation strengthening and dislocation strengthening are the main strengthening mechanisms of the alloy.