Age hardening characteristics of Cu-Ag-Zr alloy

• DOI: 10.1007/s12540-009-0555-0
• Publication Date: 2009-09-12T10:10:39Z
• Authors: S. G. Jia; X. M. Ning; P. Liu; M. S. Zheng; G. S. Zhou
• Keywords: Precipitation hardening; Hardening (computing)

Cu-Ag-Zr alloy is a newly developed copper alloy material which has an excellent combination of high mechanical strength and high electrical conductivity. By means of vacuum induction melting, Cu-Ag-Zr alloy was produced. The effects of aging processes on the microhardness and electrical conductivity characteristics of Cu-Ag-Zr alloy were studied. After aging at 450 °C for 4h, the alloy showed an excellent combination of microhardness and electrical conductivity: the microhardness and electrical conductivity reach 126 HV and 84%IACS, respectively. The precipitates responsible for the age-hardening effect are the fine and dispersed Cu5Zr, which has a face center cubic structure. Cu5Zr precipitates are fully coherent with the Cu matrix and give the Cu-Ag-Zr alloy higher microhardness and higher electrical conductivity.