Aging behavior and precipitate analysis of copper-rich Cu-Fe-Mn-P alloy

Copper-rich Cu-Fe-Mn-P alloys were designed to have high mechanical strength and good electrical conductivity. Aging characteristics of the alloys were evaluated and the optimum combination of the properties was obtained at an Fe:Mn:P molar ratio close to 1:1:1. The optimized Cu-Fe-Mn-P alloy showed better combination of mechanical and electrical properties than Cu-Fe-P and Cu-Mn-P alloys. Phase structure and preferred growth direction of precipitates in the aged Cu-Fe-Mn-P alloy were investigated using transmission electron microscopy. The precipitate formed in the alloy was identified as FeMnP phase having orthorhombic C23 structure. Longitudinal direction of rod-shaped precipitates in the aged alloy is parallel to the < 0 1 0 > of the copper matrix and [0 1 0] of the precipitate. (c) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.