Correlation mechanism of grain orientation/microstructure and mechanical properties of Cu?Ni?Si?Co alloy

The relationship between the microstructure and properties of the different orientations of a Cu?Ni?Si?Co alloy was investigated by tensile testing, X-ray diffraction electron backscattering diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, and high-energy X-ray diffraction (HEXRD). The results revealed that the cold-rolled alloy contained mainly a Brass {110} 112 211 texture. The alloy was aged, and it exhibited mainly an R texture, and its volume and distributing width were 45.2% and 10.8?, respectively. The aged alloy exhibited obvious anisotropy, and its tensile strength and electrical conductivity in the rolling direction were 870 MPa and 50% IACS, respectively. In the Cu?Ni?Si?Co alloy, the orientation grains close to the [111] crystal plane were in the hard orientation zone, the Schmid factor value was low, and the material strength was relatively high. At the same time, the [111] crystal plane was close-packed and exhibited good conductivity. The oriented grains close to the [100] crystal plane was in the soft oriented zone and had lower strength and conductivity. Through HEXRD analysis, it was found that the oriented grains with a high twin stacking-fault probability had lower stacking fault energy, and the probability of aging-induced twinning was high.

Automated summary

The study investigated the relationship between microstructure and properties of a Copper-Nickel-Silicon-Cobalt alloy with different orientations. Results showed that the aged alloy exhibited clear anisotropy, showing different mechanical properties and conductivity between grains in the hard oriented zone and soft oriented zone.