High strength, high conductivity and good softening resistance Cu-Fe-Ti alloy

Cu alloys with high strength, high electrical conductivity (EC) and good softening resistance (SR) are urgently needed in many fields. A Cu-1.06 wt% Fe-0.44 wt% Ti alloy was designed concerning the calculation of phase diagrams. It was expected that the Fe2Ti phases could precipitate to obtain high performance. The designed alloy was prepared and it obtained the most excellent properties of 211 HV hardness, 542 MPa tensile strength, 9.8% uniform elongation, 79% IACS EC and 575 degrees C softening temperature after solid solu-tion, cold rolling (90% reduction of thickness) and aging at 450 degrees C for 24 h. The Fe2Ti phases indeed pre-cipitated in the Cu matrix, which proved the alloy design idea. The precipitation kinetics, interaction between recrystallization and precipitation, and the effects of precipitation on strength, EC and SR were discussed. It was concluded that the precipitation driving force of the Fe2Ti phase itself in Cu was weak, and the cold rolling could significantly promote the precipitation. The precipitation of Fe2Ti slowed down the recrystallization to a certain extent. The high strength and high EC were mainly due to the precipitation strengthening and purification effects of the Fe2Ti precipitation on the Cu matrix. Besides, the good SR was mainly due to the low diffusion rate of Fe in Cu and the weak precipitation driving force of Fe2Ti. (C) 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

Cu alloys with high strength, high electrical conductivity, and good softening resistance are desired. In this study, a Cu-1.06 wt% Fe-0.44 wt% Ti alloy was designed and prepared, which successfully precipitated Fe2Ti phases in the Cu matrix. The alloy exhibited high strength, high electrical conductivity, and good softening resistance after specific heat treatments. The precipitation kinetics, interaction between recrystallization and precipitation, and the effects of precipitation on properties were investigated.