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Microstructure Evolution and Hardness of an Ultra-High Strength Cu-Ni-Si Alloy During Thermo-mechanical Processing

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Abstract

Microstructure evolution and hardness changes of an ultra-high strength Cu-Ni-Si alloy during thermo-mechanical processing have been investigated. For hot-compressive deformation specimens, dynamic recrystallization preferentially appeared on deformation bands. As deformation temperature increased from 750 to 900 °C, elongated grains with the Cubic texture {001} 〈100〉 were substituted by recrystallized grains with Copper texture {112} 〈111〉. For the samples having undergone cold rolling followed by annealing, static recrystallization preferentially occurred in the deformation bands, and then complete recrystallization occurred. Goss, Cubic, and Brass textures remained after annealing at 600 and 700 °C for 1 h; R texture {111} 〈211〉 and recrystallization texture {001} 〈100〉 were formed in samples annealed at 800 and 900 °C for 1 h, respectively. For samples processed under multi-directional forging at cryogenic temperature, the hardness was increased as a result of work hardening and grain refinement strengthening. These were attributed to the formation of equiaxed sub-grain structures and a high dislocation density.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are pleased to acknowledge the financial supply supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (51271203), the PPP Project between the CSC (China Scholarship Council) and the DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service), and the Nonferrous Metals Science Foundation of HNG-CSU (YSZN2013CL06).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Materials Science and Engineering, Central South University, Changsha, 410083, China

    Q. Lei & Z. Li

  2. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 48109-2136, USA

    Q. Lei & B. Derby

  3. Institute of Physical Metallurgy and Metal Physics, RWTH Aachen University, 52056, Aachen, Germany

    W. P. Hu

  4. State Key Laboratory of Powder Metallurgy, Changsha, 410083, China

    Y. Liu, C. L. Meng & W. Zhang

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Correspondence to Z. Li.

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Lei, Q., Li, Z., Hu, W.P. et al. Microstructure Evolution and Hardness of an Ultra-High Strength Cu-Ni-Si Alloy During Thermo-mechanical Processing. J. of Materi Eng and Perform 25, 2615–2625 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11665-016-2147-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11665-016-2147-8

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